The Warrior Games
by holding-on-and-letting-go
Summary: They only saw each other once every few years. Their fathers were best friends. They taught each other strengths, and knew the others weaknesses. He was her childhood best friend. And now, they were in the arena together. He is Cato. She is Katniss.
1. Recognition

I had refused to believe it until I saw him in person. Even watching him on the recap of the reapings seemed surreal. It couldn't be him. It just couldn't.

But here and now, at the opening parade of tributes, I knew it was him. My childhood friend. When I looked into his sky blue eyes, I saw recognition in them. Recognition and panic. I'm sure they reflected exactly how my own grey eyes looked.

We had met when we were little. Before my father died, he would take me hunting all the time. Once, the mines were under repair for two weeks, so he had two weeks free from work. We both faked sick with an extremely contagious disease so no one would come looking to see us, and we snuck off into the woods. We packed light: a change of clothes each, two canteens of water, our bows, and extra arrows for hunting.

We hiked for days, hunting as we went along. He taught me about new plants I had never seen before in District 12. He showed me new animals, and new techniques' for hunting. After about a week of traveling, we reached the place he was looking for.

When my father was young, his own dad took him here and introduced him to the Stone family. They lived in District 2, but they had been family friends for generations. My father became friends with Cyo, and in turn, I became friends with his son Cato.

We were both so young at the time, I hardly remember our ages, but we instantly became best friends. He had the same passion for hunting I did. He taught me ways to kill with just my hands, and I taught him tricks with my bow.

We were more than hunting partners though. We were joined at the hip. We never left one another's side. We laughed and played in the woods, and sat by the lake at night watching the stars. Of course we were young, there was nothing romantic.

He told me about how he wanted to be in the Games someday. He wanted to bring honor to his family. His older sister had won it at age 14, and ever since then it had been his dream. His sister and his younger brother were his world. He wanted to be a role model for his brother, and continue the line of victors with his sister. It meant so much to him. Of course, I never fully understood it.

When it was time to leave, we both cried. We held hands until we had to separate, and I made him promise not to look back when me and my father left. We both looked back. We revisited the Stones two other times before my father died. Each time was a few years later, and me and Cato grew closer every time.

The last I saw him I was 10. It was just months before my father died. I closed my eyes and remembered our last moments together.

_We sat by the lake. Our camp was set up about half a mile away where our fathers were singing songs together. We had taken a hike to our favorite spot to say goodbye before I left again. _

"_Katniss," he began, turning his piercing eyes to mine._

"_Yeah?" I nudged his shoulder playfully, hoping to lighten the mood of our last night even though it was always sad. _

"_My dad was joking around the other day about us getting married and having babies. He said they would be fighter children, like warriors." He chuckled at the thought. Our children would be warriors, survivors. They could live in the woods forever if they wanted to with my survival instincts and Cato's fighting nature. _

"_He said we would get married?" I scrunched up my nose jokingly. The idea was funny, at the time, but I felt a slight tingle in my stomach. _

"_Yeah, can you imagine that?" He poked me in the side, tickling me._

_I giggled and rolled away from him. What I didn't tell him is that I could imagine it. Of course at 10 I didn't understand the concept of love. But I could imagine us, living in the woods together, raising our children away from the horrors of the Capitol._

_That goodbye was bittersweet. We had planned to see each other in just one year rather than a few, but still a year is a long time. Our goodbye hug was more lingering than the others, as we both took in the other. _

I could still remember his smell. It had always reminded me of the woods after it rained. Fresh. Clean. Natural. I hadn't seen him since then. When my father died, I never had another chance to go back. Cato and Cyo never even knew of his death.

I stole another glance at him from my carriage. His face was cloudy, his eyes dark. I knew what he was thinking. There was a good chance we would encounter each other in the Games. Both fighters, there was an even better chance we could be in the final few. Maybe even the final two. We were both warriors. And we both knew what this meant.

My face clouded as well as my thoughts aligned with his. One of us may have to kill the other.

* * *

><p><strong>So this idea has just been stuck in my head for a while, and I really needed to write it. I know the whole "they knew each other before the games" concept is done and done again, but I really wanted to do my own spin on it. And this chapter was pretty much just an intro, they will get longer. Thanks for reading, please review! <strong>


	2. Vulnerability

I couldn't sleep at all last night. All I could think of was Cato. The morning came too soon as I found myself in the elevator headed down to the training center with Peeta.

He reaches over and tries to intertwine his fingers with mine, but I slap them away. "Isn't it bad enough we're dressed as twins?" I snap at him. I already look stupid enough, I don't want the tributes to see me as some weak girl holding on to her boyfriend.

Boyfriend.

The word tastes sour in my mouth. I hate the united front theme Haymitch and Effie ware trying to spin on us. It seems pointless. One of us will die either way.

Since we're from District 12, we ware staying on the 12th floor. So naturally, on our way down the elevator made several stops. My heart lurches as the elevator stops on 3. What if Cato gets on? Would he say something? Should I? I have no idea. I hold my breath as the elevator begins to move again.

It passes over 2. Relief fills my stomach as my encounter with Cato is pushed back a few minutes.

We exit the elevator and enter the training room quickly. A huge, underground room, it's filled with dozens of different stations with everything from fighting skills to survival skills. Peeta and I stand on the outskirts of the ring of tributes as a woman steps forward.

She introduces herself as Atala. She was originally from District One, and she won the Games when she was 14. She explains to us the stations, and reminds us of the importance of the survival stations.

I let my gaze drift over all the tributes. The girl from 1 looks bored; she is leaning on the boy from 1's shoulder. She doesn't look lethal. In fact, I would almost think she looks too girly for the Games. But since she's from 1 I make a mental note to keep an eye on her. The boy from 1 looks more intimidating than her. Of course, they will both be Careers.

I notice the boy from District 11. I resolve to stay as far away from him as possible. He is perhaps the biggest person I have ever seen, and it looked to me like all muscle. He could snap me in half with his pinky.

The girl from District 2 looks lethal. She looks the opposite of the District 1 girl. She looks fierce, determined, and she has a glint of sadism in her eyes.

I finally let my eyes fall on Cato. He is focused on Atala, listening to her talk away about our most likely causes of death. His hair is shorter since I last saw it. His eyes are still as striking. His muscles are huge. When he was little he was always toned and strong, but now his strength truly showed. He looked almost as big as the boy from District 11, but with less bulk and more tone. As if he knew I was thinking about him, he whips his head around and makes eye contact with me.

I hold his gaze, leaving my face expressionless. I can't smile, can't grimace. Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could move. His gaze has me frozen solid. I wait for him to give me some kind of symbol of recognition. Anything to show me he has been thinking of the same things I am. I get nothing. He simply turns his head to his district partner and mutters something. They both look at Peeta, who shifts uncomfortably.

Finally, Atala releases all the tributes to our stations. I hesitate and look to Peeta.

"Well, where to?" he asks tentatively, his hand lingering to mine again. Since Haymitch has instructed us to stay together, we walk around together to the knot tying station.

It's boring. I already know basic snares from Gale. And honestly, I doubt anything more complicated will do me much good in the Games. Peeta however, is having trouble. As he attempts a simple noose, I glance up at the giant virtual screen above our head. It gives information on every tribute, from their name to their weight to their odds of winning.

Cato's odds are 3:1. I'm not surprised. In fact, I would think them better. His partner, Clove, is 4:1. They have the two best odds. I sneak a glance at mine. 40:1. It's bad. Peeta's is 35:1. I suppose his muscle gives him a better chance than me.

I notice the youngest tribute, Rue. Her odds are 60:1. Certainly not in her favor. Glancing around the room I try to spot her, but don't see her anywhere. Perhaps she chose not to come to training? It seemed unlikely, but entirely possible.

Peeta and I finally change stations. As we walk over to the knives, I walk past Cato throwing spears. His earthly smell hits me like a train. Memories swoop in and I feel my knees go wobbly at the thought of killing that smell. Never smelling it again.

I tilt my head slightly to the side so I can see him in my peripheral vision. He's staring at me. His face is still blank, empty. Emotionless.

Dread fills me as I realize our previous ties probably mean nothing to him. He's wanted to win these Games since he was a child; why let some old friendship stop that? I curse myself for imaging seeing any hint of panic in his eyes last night. Perhaps he even looks forward to hunting me, knowing my strengths and knowing my fighting nature, he will probably think me a fun challenge.

Irritated, I grab a handful of knives and begin to sling them at various dummies. I hit two in the heart, one in the stomach, one in the shoulder, and one in the skull. Pleased, but still I have a sick taste in my mouth.

Focusing on Prim's face and seeing her again, I pick up another handful of knives, this time longer and sharper.

Two hours pass and it's finally time for lunch. We go into a dining room with all of the other tributes, and serve ourselves. Peeta and I settle into a small table shoved off into the corner.

We try to casually keep up conversation, but I find myself continuously getting distracted as I watch the table of Careers.

Cato and Clove sit next to each other at the head of the table. To Cato's other side is Glimmer, and next to her is Marvel. The tributes from District 4, Ethan and Tara, sit on the opposite side, silent. Tara looks old and silent, almost bored of the conversation. Ethan looks to be about 12. My insides repulse at the thought of such a young Career.

Glimmer has her arm around Cato and is laughing about something Marvel said. I try to tune into their conversation, fascinated by their camaraderie, since they would be killing one another in a few days.

"Please, if anyone it should be Cato! He's the biggest, he has the best chance of taking him." Glimmer points out to the table.

Cato smirks smugly, and tilts his head to the side. "Just because I can doesn't mean I have to right away. I would much prefer to see him take you out then I would take him out." He said it jokingly, but a glint of brutal honestly flashes from his eyes to Glimmer's.

Taken aback at his slight death threat, Glimmer clears her throat and turns to Marvel.

"Marvel wants to be the one to kill the 12 boy. Apparently that scum gave him a look this morning." She smirked at Marvel who nodded cockily.

"No, I want him." Clove pipes up, the first time I heard her speak. "I have a special distaste for District 12. My aunt was in the 50th Hunger Games and was killed by that stupid 12 who only won by cheating."

I shudder, realizing she is talking about the year Haymitch won.

"Fine, I'll split it with you. You take the boy and I'll get the girl." Marvel compromises, reaching out to shake hands with Clove.

"No." comes a new voice. Cato. "I want the girl. She's my kill." He doesn't say anything more, but his eyes have turned dark blue, reminding me of dusk.

Marvel gives him a strange look, and glances at me. I make brief eye contact with him before turning back to Peeta.

"Isn't it funny?" he asks me.

"What?" I am not in the mood for Peeta Mellark's jokes right now.

"How they are planning who they will kill. Making bargains and plans. We're not even in the arena and they're already mentally killing us. It's crazy." I nod to him in agreement. It is sick.

"They started mentally killing us the second they volunteered. It never mattered to them who we are. They... just want to bring honor to their families." I mutter the last part, remembering one of my conversations with Cato.

Peeta gives me an odd look. "Katniss, did you not just hear District 2 say he want's you to be his kill? Does that sound like an honor to you?"

Confused, he looks away. I don't mind. It gives me more time to evaluate these Careers. I have to find some sort of weakness. Some way to take them down.

After listening to them babble on for another ten minutes, I give up. They have moved on from the Games, now discussing different foods. Finding my stomach not completely full, I walk over to the dessert cart eager to try something.

It's filled of foods I have never seen before. I smirk at the name cards describing the dishes. They probably put those there for people like me who have never had these luxuries.

I notice a presence behind me and whip my head around, to find Cato standing oddly close to me.

"Woah there, calm down District 12. You're not the only one who wants a dessert." He says snidely, sliding next to me to examine the food.

I give him an odd look, not knowing how to respond. He looks down at me again with a smirk on his face. He cuts himself a piece of cheesecake, a dish that looks nothing like it's name, and pours strawberries on top of it.

Rolling my eyes, I cut myself a piece of chocolate cake, after hearing Peeta tell me about it earlier. We stand in silence for a moment, taking the other in. I chance a glance through the corner of my eyes at him, and find him looking at me as well. Secretly, I notice his hand slide something toward me. A napkin? I look at him puzzled. He widens his eyes. I grab the napkin in my hand and ball it up. He smiles one last time and says, "Can't wait to see you in the Games." With a smirk, he rejoins his table.

Confused, I pick up my plate and walk back to Peeta and I's table. I'm not hungry anymore, and I pass the cake to Peeta who picks at it. Neither of our stomachs are well adjusted to this Capitol food anyways.

It isn't until after lunch is over and I have snuck off to the bathroom that I unball my fist. Unfolding the napkin delicately, I read the message written in messy handwriting: _My mentor told me they leave the training room unlocked and unsupervised after midnight. Meet me. _

Simple. To the point. I shudder at the thought of our true reunion. My spirits soar that he truly does want to see me. Of course, my happiness is dampened moments later by the impending feeling of dread I get.

Back in the training center, I notice him by the bows and arrows. When I walk in, he glances at me nonchalantly. I give a subtle nod that would be only noticeable to someone who was looking for it.

He seemed appeased, and turned back to his bow. I watched casually as he shot targets with incredible accuracy. He reminded me of Gale in the way he shoots. No, I'm not allowed to think of Gale. Not now.

I walk over to the spear throwing station where an instructor is teaching Peeta the basics. The rest of the day drags on. I learn the basics of spear throwing, but don't excel at it. I simply don't have the right muscles for it.

As dinner comes, Peeta and I are plagued by questions from Effie and Haymitch. After filling them in on all the tributes, we are sent to bed.

It feels like hours as the time ticks closer to midnight.

At 11:48 I creep slowly out of bed, careful to not make a noise that may wake someone up.

By 11:55 I have slowly gotten dressed. I stand by my door, hardly breathing.

At 11:59 I slowly twist the doorknob and slip through the door. Like a shadow, I slip through the hallway and to the elevator that leads to the training center. Nervously, I wait. It seems to take ages to arrive, and when it does, it seems to take even longer to get to the bottom level. I note that again, it doesn't stop on 2.

Walking in to the darkened training center, I feel a rush of adrenaline. I glance around the room to find it empty. Shrugging it off, I figure he must be late.

Some odd urge brings me to the archery station. Having to stay away from it all day was hard. I pick up the slick bow and hold it in my hands. It's delicate but sturdy. Smooth and sleek, it's unlike any bow I've ever used. I carefully pick up an arrow and prepare to shoot. I aim for a dummy on the other side of the room. I decide to pierce it's heart, as that's the quickest kill for animals as well as humans.

Releasing the bow, I watch as the arrow shoots to the dummy and strikes it straight in the heart. Smiling, I lower the bow.

"Now can you do that on a moving target? Perhaps a target that is trying to shoot you as well?" His voice fills the silent room at once, causing me to jump slightly. I turn to the doorway and see him standing there, arms crossed, smirking slightly.

"Cato," is all I can manage to say. The crack in the voice gives my worry away.

His smirk turns to a grin in the fraction of a second. He drops his arms and swiftly walks toward me. "Hey, Kat." He says, as he envelopes me in his arms.

His arms are so strong, protective. It almost feels as though my father is hugging me. But this hug, it's different. It's sad. We both know what situation we're in.

I pull away, catching my breath. "It's been a long time." I whisper, in fear of my voice revealing my emotions again.

"Yeah. Not gonna lie, I'm going to blame you for that." His eyes are dark again. Oh yeah. He's mad I haven't gone to see him in 6 years.

"I can explain. Just, not now. Trust me, it's a long story for another time." I say, not wanting to bring up my father now.

"That's okay. As long as there's a reason." His eyes lighten slightly. "So Prim got reaped?" He looks at me, as if waiting for me to break.

I nod, knowing the tears couldn't fall now. Not with him. I pull myself together and say, "Yeah. And I volunteered. And so did you."

He gives a half smirk, but this one is different from his usual. This one is more sad, regretful.

"If only I had known you'd be in these Games, I never would have volunteered." He mutters. I'm no fool. I know what he means. If he knew he'd had to kill me, he wouldn't have volunteered.

And there it is. He knew he'd have to kill me. I guess I could only hope someone else would kill him first before it would be the two of us.

"So I see you're still good with a bow." He says, lightening the mood as he plucks it out of my hands. He loads an arrow, and begins aiming at a dummy.

"Well from what I saw today you're not so bad yourself." I retort, remembering his early show.

"Oh you saw that?" he gives a half smirk as he releases an arrow directly into the dummy's throat.

I wince. That's a painful death, that would last anywhere from two to four minutes.

"Yeah, it was pretty impressive." I say as I grab the bow from his hands. In a matter of seconds, I load the arrow and shoot one of the moving targets on the opposite side of the room. Smiling cunningly, I hand the bow back to him. "Your turn," I say, my voice falling just above a whisper.

He smirks back at me and sets the bow back in its holder. "Maybe another time." He says. He turns back to me, and suddenly the sadness overwhelms me again. "Now, we need to talk."

"Yeah, we do." Is all I can say. There's so much to talk about, but so little to say, it seems. We both sit in silence on the floor of the training room.

"Three more days." He finally says. His voices quavers slightly, and I raise my eyes to his and see something I haven't seen before. Worry.

"Aren't you excited?" I mutter halfheartedly, knowing the answer.

"I was." He says simply, looking away from me.

I don't know what to say. I don't know what I feel. I don't want to kill my best friend. I don't want anyone to. I don't want him to die. But I want to see Prim, Gale, and my mother again. Torn.

"What are we going to do?" I whisper. It is hardly audible, but he knows what I'm saying even if he doesn't hear the words. I know this because it's the same words I hear from his eyes now.

"I don't know." He says.

He looks up at me again. "Maybe we should just wait. We never know what may happen… in the Games…" his voice trails off. I know what he means. One of us may die before the other can do anything about it. "I will say this though, Kat. I don't want to kill you. I don't think I can."

He raises his eyes to me, and I see something else new. Vulnerability. I nod. "I can't kill you, Cato."

We sit for a moment, in silent agreement. Both praying we wouldn't be the last two.

Finally, he stands. I look at the clock, and realize it's almost one. I suppose it's worth trying to sleep tonight.

"Well, we should probably go to sleep now," he mutters. I nod, and we both walk to the door. We step on the elevator together, and within seconds, it stops on the second floor.

He steps forward, and then hesitates. He turns to me one more time with a determined look in his eyes. "I've missed you, Kat. A lot." He says gently, and steps off the elevator.

The doors close, and I am whisked back up to my room of sleepless nights.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys. I am so sorry it took me so long to update, I feel bad! I've been crazy busy this past week and weekend, and I haven't had the inspiration to really write until today. So I'm glad I've been able to put this up. Just in case you're interested I have mapped out all the chapters for this story, and it's going to be about 15. But the but is I leave it in chapter 15 setting up for a sequel. So I'll either start a new story or just continue in a part two or something. We'll cross that bridge when we get there! For now, let me know what you think and review please! You're suggestions (especially when it comes to characterization) is so appreciated.<strong>

**That also brings me to Katniss in this chapter. I am trying to portray that she is extremely attached to Cato, not only because they were so close, but because he's one of the closest ties she has to her dad. To be clear, neither of them are really thinking too much about romantic stuff (yet). So I hope you guys see where I'm going with their relationship at the current moment. And if this isn't obvious, this story is AU. (: **


	3. Cries

I am swirling in a pool of bodies without faces. All I see is blood, and all I hear are cries. Cries of death, cries of pain, and then a different cry all together. A cry that makes my whole world stop and break into thousands of pieces. Prim's frail, heartbroken cry engulfs me as I fall through darkness. Falling. Falling. I can't stop. I have to help Prim, I can't let her be sad. I can't let this happen. But what can I do? All that surrounds me is dark. Am I in the woods? I am. I can make out the shapes of the trees that I am flying past at an inhuman rate. Prim's voice grows softer, fading in the distance. No, I can't leave her. I struggle, wanting to rejoin her again. To keep her safe in my arms.

Suddenly I'm stopped in the middle of clearing, next to a familiar lake. The lake Cato and I always played at. I hear his voice too, calling to me. Calling to me to come hunt with him, just like old times. But Prim, I can't let her cry. I struggle, not knowing which way to go. The voices swirl and come from different directions, taunting me. I try running one way only to run into the girl from District 2. I beg her to let me go so I can save my sister. She just laughs, and then turns into President Snow. Just as a stench of roses descends on me, I wake up.

I'm in my bed, covered in sweat. I struggle to catch my breath as I turn on the light. The blanket is on the floor, obviously from my thrashing in bed. I glance at the clock. 4:23. Great, the last thing I need is a lack of sleep before the Games.

I decide to get a glass of water, because my throat is sore. I have a lurking feeling that I was screaming in my sleep. Not looking forward to the questions I would likely receive in the morning, I slip out of my room for the second time that night.

I can't get the sound of Prim's cries out of my head. I sip the water, concentrating on its texture on my tongue. Squeezing my eyes tightly closed, I try to repress the sounds into the deepest parts of my head, where they would not haunt me. My eyes snap open as Prim screams again. These cries won't be leaving my mind, it seems.

I walk back to my room, and lie on my bed. Prim. Mother. I miss them both so much. I know I can't allow myself to feel sad, because it will only weaken me. But I allow myself a moment to let it out. The tears I have been holding back since the reaping spill, soaking my pillow in minutes. I stifle my sobs with my bed sheets so as not to wake anyone. Prim. Mother. Gale. Cato.

My head snaps up. Cato didn't fit in that list. I can't have him if I want my family. For the first time, I accept what I already knew, deep down. Cato can't make it out of these Games alive. I have to go back, to stop Prim's cries. Even if it means Cato's death.

Dread fills my stomach. The thought of Cato dying leaves a part of me feeling dead as well. But that part of me can stay dead forever if it means Prim's happiness. That's all that can truly matter.

At some point during my swarm of thoughts and feelings, sleep finds me again.

"Katniss, stop! You're going to destroy the dummy!" Peeta's irritated voice brings me out of my half asleep state. We are in the training center, and I am exhausted. All night I woke up after more nightmares of Prim's screams haunted my sleep.

I look over at the dummy I have been nonchalantly throwing knives at. 8 stick out if it, from various angles. Stuffing oozes out of each pierce. Smiling, as if I was truly meaning to torture the cotton person, I walk over and pull the knives out of it, being sure to make eye contact with the girl from District 2. Clove. She has been watching me for some time, it seems. She is standing two dummies down from me, practicing her knife throwing as well.

I watch as she closes her eyes, and throws three knives at once at the dummy, landing squarely in it's chest. Not allowing myself to feel intimidated, I pick up more knives to continue practicing, disregarding Peeta's irritated sigh.

Lunch is just as it was yesterday. Peeta and I try to make more small talk. We truly try, but there is so little to talk about that doesn't make us both sad. So instead, we sit and discuss the other tributes.

"I think the best tactic is to hide. Really good. And wait for them to take each other out," Peeta says, eyeing the Careers. "After some point they have to break up. If we let them do all the killing first then we can join in at the end. They may even already be weak!" His eyes light up slightly with hope, as if this is actually a possibility.

"Except they're Careers. They're going to hunt us, Peeta. And it's not like we can just hide in one stationary point, we'd got caught within a day or two. Plus we'd need food, which would mean I have to hunt," I look at his confused face, as if he was wondering how this would be a problem. "I hunt on the ground Peeta. The same ground the Careers walk on."

He gives a jerk of his head that I take as understanding. His expression changes to one of thinking. I suppose he's trying to think of a new technique.

I, however, have my own plan in mind. I've been weighing the pros and cons of the bloodbath at the cornucopia. There is sure to be a bow and arrow there, closer in where the fight is thicker. I'm a fast runner. If I can get to it before the others, I could definitely take down a few while I run off. The rest of the fighters will be left in their own hand to hand combat. The problem is, I'm sure I'm not the fastest runner. If someone beats me there and attacks me before I have the bow, I don't have a chance. Plus, there are more of them then of me, so if they team up on me, I'm doomed.

I let my eyes wander around the room, trying to decide the greatest threats of fast runners. Most of the tributes are bigger than me, which would slow them down slightly. But not much.

I notice Cato glance at me for a half second, before looking away again. I train my eyes on the table of Careers yet again.

This time Glimmer is sitting practically in Cato's lap, with her arms snaked around his neck.

What kind of technique is that? Surely she realizes one of them will be dead within a few weeks. The Hunger Games is not the right time for a romance. I study the two. They look like they could be lovers, of course. They are both physically attractive. Glimmer is the type of girl I always see guys at my school in District 12 look at. Even Gale looked at those girls, from time to time. Thankfully, he chose to never get involved with them.

I study Cato. For the first time I let my eyes roam his features. He has a broad jawline, slightly tan skin, and of course, his piercing blue eyes. The eyes that seemed to always hypnotize me. His blond hair is slightly ruffled. For some reason I have a feeling his stylist did not appreciate his habits of mussing his own hair.

In District 12 there are no guys who look like Cato. Most people have dark hair and tan skin. I wonder if there were more people like Cato in District 12 if I would find him as appealing as I do. I shrug off the thought immediately. There are not many people like Cato in this world.

Peeta's voice brings me back to reality. "What's up with you?" His tone remind me of our lunchtime conversation yesterday.

I raise my eyebrows at him. "What are you talking about?" I ask, trying to sound as bored as possible.

"You're giving the death glare to Glimmer and Cato over there." He points out, tilting his head in their direction.

"I just think it's stupid," I mumble. "It's stupid trying to start up a romance when only one person in this room is going to be alive in two weeks."

Peeta's face grows dark and his eyes shoot to his plate. I narrow my eyes suspiciously at him, but choose to ignore his behavior. He's probably been trying to ignore the fact that one of us is going to die. Most likely him.

The rest of the day drags on slowly. I'm not in the mood for more training. Prim's voice still haunts me though, motivating me to take a few basic sword lessons. I quickly learn it is not a strength of mine. I watch Peeta as he fights his helper. He is picking up on swordsmanship surprisingly quickly, likely due to his strength.

It's not a surprise when I feel his presence loom over me. It is his personal favorite station after all. I turn around to meet his eyes, piercing through the back of my head before I even turned around.

I put on a blank face, devoid of any emotion. "Did you need something, 2?" I ask, tauntingly.

He narrows his eyes at me. "Of course not." He smirks, and steps around me to get a knife. His shoulder bumps mine, hard. I turn to glare at him.

He raises an eyebrow, and then looks around. He mouths the word: tonight. With a wink, he turns to slash a dummy in the stomach.

I stand there for a moment, watching as he completely dismembers the fabric person. I imagine it as me. Chopping away every part of me, slowly. Excruciating pain envelopes me as I hear Prim's scream one last time.

I shake the thoughts from my head and pick up a sword of my own. I try to relearn how to get a good grip of it before slicing into a dummy of my own.

When dinner finally rolls around, all I want is sleep. But Effie insists I join them for dinner.

I stare at the food on my plate, bored. I swoop the mashed potatoes around my spoon, admiring their fluffiness. Prim would love this food, it would remind her of the sheep she used to admire on the way home from school. I wonder if she still looked at them.

"Are you even listening to me, princess?" Haymitch's annoyed voice interrupts my thoughts.

"No." I reply, wishing I was back home.

"Well you might want to get your head out of the clouds for two minutes. Tomorrow you will be evaluated by the Gamemakers. This is the chance to show them everything you've got. Make an impression." He nods to me, as if passing along a hidden meaning that only I'm supposed to understand.

Problem is, I have no idea what he's referring to. I suppose I'll be doing archery, finally. I crave the feeling of the iron bow in my hands yet again.

When dinner finally ends, I take a shower and crawl into my bed. It isn't until I almost drift to sleep that I remember Cato. I look at the clock, and realize he expects me to meet him in 10 minutes.

It's the memory of Prim's cries of pain that keep me planted to my bed for the next seven hours.

The next day of training goes by unbearably slow. The lunch is lengthened to give time for all 24 tributes to be evaluated for 15 minutes. As the group sits in lunch, an unusual hush fills the room. Each tribute leaves in order of their district, one by one. You can only wonder what they are revealing to the Gamemakers. Their secret strengths and talents. I wish for even a peak in there, for a chance to know what I have to face.

District 12 is finally called, and I nod to Peeta as he leaves me in the room alone.

I take a moment and am glad that Cato is District 2, and was one of the first to leave. He has been avoiding my eyes all morning. Several times I have looked up to see him looking at me, only for him to turn away immediately.

My name is called, and I enter the training center. Haymitch's words _make an impression_ echo in my head with a backtrack of Prim's screams. I walk over to the bows, and load up an arrow. I shoot two arrows straight in the heart of two dummies. I reload as fast as possible, shoot another three into three different skulls. I roll forward lightly and shoot the last dummy in the throat, just as Cato had done last night.

I glance up at the Gamemakers, wiping the sweat of my brow. Several look impressed, some idly jot down words on paper. Most, however, are crowding around a pig that had just been delivered.

They all joke and pat each other on the back, turning away from me and to the pig. I look at the clock. Ten minutes left.

Anger fills me. Am I not here because of them? If they want to ignore me they might as well send me back home. Prim's cries become louder in my head as my body moves without my brain's consent.

Words fly around my brain in a rage as I release an arrow, straight into the apple in the pigs mouth, pinning it to the wall.

Silence. Silence so loud. It fills the room immediately as the Gamemakers all turn to me, astonished.

I drop the bow and arrow loudly, turn and walk out without a word. Because I am Katniss Everdeen, and I do not condone them. I do not condone who they are, what they do, and what they think of me. So I don't give them another word.

As I enter the training room, I notice the other tributes glance at the clock. They must wonder why I took so short. Rolling my eyes, I walk over to the machetes in a huff. The machete is the one weapon I have yet to try.

I practice my grip on it, before slinging it into a dummies throat. 2-4 minute death. I turn and look at the tributes, all of whom are staring at me. I walk slowly over to the machete, and make sure to twist it in the neck before removing it. Let the Games begin. I'm coming home to Prim.

The scores are televised right after dinner. I am nervous. I've avoided telling Haymitch and Effie just what happened during my session. But once they see my low score, I know I'll have to explain. I watch as the numbers begin to flash on the screen.

I watch as both Glimmer and Marvel get 8's. Of course, Careers always get high scores.

Clove gets a 9. Cato gets a 10. I'm not surprised. I'm already positive he'll have the highest there. The girl Career from 4 gets a 6, and the boy gets a 5. That's surprisingly low for Careers. The boy is young though, so I doubt he'll even last long.

The rest of the tributes get average scores. The little girl from 11 a 7, and and the boy gets a 8. I'm surprised; District 11 may actually have a chance this year. I wonder about the girl. Perhaps she's resourceful, like me. Maybe I should have shown off some of my survival skills.

I hold my breath as District 12's scores are presented. Peeta scores an 8, receiving a round of applause. I grit my teeth in anxiety for mine, preparing for the 1 that is about to flash across the screen.

And a 1 does appear on the screen. However, it is followed by another 1. An 11. I stare in shock.

Everyone congratulates me, telling me this is a huge deal. They see me as true competition. My body buzzes with excitement. Perhaps this will be my way of getting sponsors. I suggest this to Haymitch, since we will be trained for our interviews tomorrow. The idea of me being presented as a warrior doesn't appeal to him. He cryptically replies that he already has an idea for Peeta and I.

With one more round of congratulations and hugs, everyone turns to their rooms to manage a few hours of sleep.

Of course I have another nightmare. This time, it's not just Prim. It's Madge. Greasy Sae. Rosy. I can't take it, all these people crying. I wake up covered in sweat again. Glancing at the clock, it's 1:29. I decide to go down to the training center. I doubt anyone will be there this late, and shooting some arrows will hopefully help take my mind off of some of this.

Seconds later I am in the dark training center. I stumble in, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dark. As I grow accustomed to the dark room, I make out his figure in the corner. He's sitting with his back facing me, next to the knifes. He's slowly running one through his fingers, feeling the sharp blade.

I step forward, startling him. He leaps to his feet, still holding the knife.

"Nice seeing you last night." He says coldly, walking toward me. "Oh, and nice 11." He is now face to face with me, his jaw squared and his eyes stormy.

I don't allow myself to be intimidated, and look straight up into his eyes, matching his glare. His eyes are dark, sending hate rays through my soul. Electrifyingly intense, I can't look away. Tension fills the room and the air between us as both of us stare each other down, neither breathing, neither stepping away.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey everyone, thank you so much for the reviews! Keep em coming (: Also, I hope no one gets too mad at me for tweaking Katniss' session with the Gamemakers. I just added the silence part because, it's fanfiction. I have to mix it up somehow. Of course I love how it is in the books! Also, just to let you know, I've added a bit of stuff in and this story will be a bit longer than 15 chapters. I gotta add a bit MORE angst in there (; Hopefully everyone will stick with me that long, I really hope I'm doing okay! Thank you for reading!<strong>


	4. Laughter

Betrayed. Deep in his eyes, masked by his fierce anger, I see it. We stand there for what feels like hours, staring the other down.

Finally, I take a step back. I watch as he snaps back to reality, and takes a deep, irritated breath. "First you stop showing up to meet me and dad, then you decided to abandon me here as well?" He mutters something else under his breath, but I doubt I want to hear it.

"I didn't want to come." I say simply, not wanting to further explain. I don't want to develop our friendship anymore if it is hopeless. He has to die. I have to get back to Prim.

"I suppose you wanted a good night's sleep before the training evaluations, huh?" He asks, anger returning to his face. "Tell me, Katniss, how the hell does someone who has been training their whole life in an academy, being taught to kill people in hundreds of different ways since he was born, get beat by some girl who hunts in the woods. With no other training. Someone who doesn't even want to be here!" He yells the last part at me, his eyes spitting fire into mine.

"I don't know." I say quietly. I remain silent, watching him as he begins to pace angrily.

"This wasn't supposed to happen! I come, I conquer. That's what I was supposed to do. Why do you have to ruin this for me?" He yells again, before turning and slicing a dummy with his knife. I stand there for a moment, watching as he lashes out at the cotton person.

I suppose I should be afraid, knowing this violence is directed at me. Instead, I stand there and watch him.

After about ten minutes, he turns to me, breathing heavily. "What did you do that impressed them so much to give you a higher score than me?" he asks.

I don't know what to say. "I shot some arrows." I say, my voice just above a whisper.

"You show some arrows." Enraged, he walks over and overturns the stand holding the bow and arrows. "I shot a few arrows too! Oh yeah, and then I speared some dummies, attacked them with a sword, and strangled a few with my hands. But of course, you shot some arrows." I start to get a nervous feeling in my stomach, a feeling of pity.

I slowly walk over to him, trying to ignore the raging fire inside him. I stand in front of him, and raise my hand to his shoulder. We stand there for a moment, and his breathing slows.

I feel my brow furrow as I say, "You've been waiting for this moment your entire life."

He nods. "Ever since I was a kid I've dreamed of being in these Games."

"And now I've ruined it for you."

He doesn't say anything. His silence proves my sentence to be true. "I'm sorry." I say, not really knowing what I'm apologizing for.

"You did it for Prim." He says, knowing I would never truly be sorry for saving her life.

I don't say anything, as I try to avoid the pain that accompanies her name.

"You know, I've never seen someone as determined as you before." I look over at him oddly, knowing that can't be true.

"Cato, you're from 2. Do you even know how many victors you guys have had? There's a reason. You're all determined there. I'm nothing special, it's not like I want to be here."

His eyes darken. "Yeah, I don't really want to be either at this point."

Silence consumes us again as we sit together, comfortably.

"We could ally, you know." His voice surprises me, but not as much as his suggestion.

"What?" I ask, wondering if I heard him wrong.

"Ally. You. Me. The rest of the Careers. No one would be shocked given your score."

I try to stifle a laugh. "The rest of the Careers would try to kill me the second I go to sleep."

"Nah, I'll make sure they won't. They won't touch you until our pack splits up. Then it's fair game."

"Wouldn't it be more convenient for you if they do kill me? You won't have to worry about it."

"Your death would hardly be convenient for me, Kat."

Another silence descends on us. Finally, he stands. "We better get out sleep. We have interviews tomorrow." He offers his hand out to me, and I take it. He pulls me up, and we walk to the elevator together.

It stops on his floor. He looks at me, and says, "Good night."

"Good night." I say back to him.

"There is no way I can make this happen. None. Not at all." Haymitch says as he pours himself another drink. We've been trying for at least 3 hours to find the best way to present me during me interview. The problem is there is no best way.

First, we tried sweet and girly. That was a disaster. Then we tried family girl. I just sat there and couldn't form words. We tried determined and fierce, but I didn't look the part physically. Finally, we decided to let me wing it. According to Haymitch Peeta's strategy was much better than mine anyways.

Cinna dresses me in a beautiful dress, resembling a fire. He stands with me backstage with all the other tributes just before we go on. Squeezing my hand, he whispers, "Good luck, fire girl."

I have never seen so many people in my life. It must be the whole population of the Capitol. I see faces for miles, and the cheering hurts my ears and gives me a headache within seconds. I wonder how the announcer, Caesar Flickerman, does this ever year. I glance around at all the other tributes, adorned in their gowns and suits. Taking my seat next to Peeta, I swallow a nervous gulp. Surely all the other tributes have strategies already worked out for how to present themselves to get sponsors. Even Peeta does. I have nothing.

The Career from District 1, Glimmer, is an airhead. I almost feel bad for the girl as she jokes through her interview, only succeeding in making herself sound stupid. But when she talks about her training, it's clear she's been raised to kill. The boy from District 1 is much more sociable than her, he jokes around with Caesar about his own lethal skills.

Clove, from District 2, grabs my attention the most. She's quiet, but when she talks she has a sadistic look in her eyes. She's clearly more than ready to start killing in the arena. At one point Caesar asks her what part of the Games she's looking forward to the most. She looks right at me, and says, "Killing people I don't like slowly." I try to repress the shudder that involuntarily passes through me as I match her glare.

When Cato walks up he's met with cheers of thousands of women. Clearly he has already drawn their attention. He lightly chats with Caesar for a moment, joking about his fans.

Caesar sits back in his seat, and says "So, Cato, tell me about your life before the Reaping. Your family, friends… girlfriend. I'm sure the viewers would love to know." His last suggestion is met with tremulous applause and screaming.

Cato chuckles and runs his hands through his hair, messing it up slightly. "Well, my family has always been important for me. For us, the Games is an honor. Ever since my sister won it, I've dreamed of it. I've been looking forward to this moment my whole life, and I couldn't be more excited."

"You left out something, Cato. Something I think all the ladies would love to know." Caesar jokes with a wink toward Cato.

Cato laughs again and smirks. "Well, I don't have a girlfriend right now-" the roar of the crowd amplifies as Cato laughs with a smirk. "But there is someone I'm going to miss." He looks like he wants to say more, but doesn't.

"Ahh, but if you win you will see this special someone again!" Caesar says, and the crowd cheers.

Cato smiles halfheartedly. "Sure,"

"So Cato, tell me about what you are looking forward to most in the Games." Caesar says, casually changing the topic.

"The food. They better have great food at the Cornucopia." The audience roars with laughter.

"No, actually, I'm most excited for the challenge. There's some pretty good competition this year, and I think especially once it gets down to a smaller number of people, it's going to be a lot of… fun." He grins at the audience, and they scream ecstatically in response.

"Well, Cato, I personally can't wait to see just what you can do in the Games. Good luck to you." Caesar stands and shakes Cato's hand. The audience roars one last time as Cato smirks and walks back to his seat.

The rest of the interviews go by without much interest. My heart goes out to Rue, the little girl from 11. The boy from 11, however, remains mostly silent.

Finally, it is my turn. I walk slowly up, hoping to waste as much of my 3 minutes as I can.

I finally reach my seat, and shake hands with Casear.

He begins sociably, "So Katniss, tell me about yourself. Tell us about your life back in District 12."

I live in District 12? My minds blanks and I feel as if I can't remember anything about who I am. All I can do is stare out at the huge audience.

Caesar seems to notice this, and helps me. "Your sister, Prim. Tell us about her and you volunteering. What led you to do it?"

Prim's name sparks something in me, something that wants everyone to know how wonderful she is. "Prim… is my younger sister. It was her first year being in the Reaping, and I promised her it wouldn't be her. That I wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. So when it was her… I didn't even think. I just volunteered, because I had to keep her away from these Games." I feel my stomach clench in sadness and I try to push the feeling away.

"It was one of the most heart touching volunteers I have ever seen." Caesar says, and the audience claps in agreement. "Now let's talk about the chariot ceremony. You certainly made a fiery entrance." He jokes and the audience screams in response. "Tell us about that."

"Well, I was mostly just scared of burning up." The audience laughs, so I continue. "But it was truly an amazing design, I couldn't thank my designer, Cinna, enough for it. It was probably just what I needed to be strong."

"Yes, let's all give a round of applause for Cinna." Caesar says, as the audience roars. "Now one last question. You had the highest training score of all the tributes. What does this mean for you in the Games?" A hush goes over the audience, and I can hear everyone straining to hear my words.

"Well, I'm not sure just yet. If you mean allies, I've never been one to ally. I work on my own best, so I wouldn't be expecting to see me join forces with anyone. But for action in the arena, if the others want to fight with me, they have to find me first." I give a menacing smile to the audience, before standing to shake Caesar's hand. Feeling pleased that I didn't throw up, I smile at Peeta on his way up the stage.

When I'm finally in my seat again, I exhale heavily, relieved. I notice Cato give me an odd glance, and I try to ignore it.

I try to focus on Peeta's interview, but all I can do is focus on the enormous audience in front of me. I can't believe I just spoke in front of all of them without making a fool of myself. So when I hear the words "She came here with me." My heart drops out of my chest. The whole audience grows silent and stares at me, everyone waiting to see what I'll do.

I can't move. I can't say anything. I simply stare in shock at the blonde boy who just confessed his love for me.

After what feels like hours, Caesar says, "Well I wish you luck, Peeta." The audience cheers loudly for him, and he turns to go back to his seat. He refuses to make eye contact me, and even as he sits next to me and I look at him he doesn't look back.

Infuriated, I bite my tongue until Effie escorts us back up to the 12th floor. Then, I let out a raged scream and stalk over to him. I push him against the wall forcefully and yell, "What was that? What are you trying to do to me?" I push harder and he releases a grunt. "I want to know why you just made me look weak in front of the entire country."

"Katniss!" Effie's shriek doesn't affect me; Haymitch's forceful hand pulling me away from Peeta does. Breathing heavily, he falls down.

I chuckle darkly. Peeta coughs and no words come out. I take another step towards him, but Haymitch stops me.

"You should be thanking him, he's helping you to get sponsors. He's making you look desirable, something you sure as hell can't do on your own!" he yells at me, pushing me toward my room.

Still angry, I turn on my heel and stalk off to my bedroom. When dinner time comes, I do not go. I can't stand the thought of facing any of them knowing they planned this on me.

Nighttime comes and I'm still hiding in my room. My stomach growls with hunger, something I should probably get used to for the next few weeks. My mind, determined to not let myself give in, is beaten by my stomach who reasons that if food is available, I may as well eat it.

I creep out into the kitchen, and indulge myself into leftover pork from dinner. Savoring the taste in my mouth, it's not until my eyes have finally adjusted to the dark that I notice the door leading to the elevator wide open. Curious, I walk over towards the elevator, and notice another door adjar. The one has a set of stairs behind it.

I let my curiosity get the best of me as I travel up the stairs. I end up on the roof, and I can't help but feel my mouth widen in shock.

It's beautiful up here, covered in plants and flowers that I assume are left over from decorating. The stars are not hidden here, like at home, so I can see all the shiny constellations clearly. I smile looking up at them for a second, trying to find the same ones I rarely saw from home.

"You really are something, Katniss." Peeta's voice comes from the edge of the building. I jerk my head down and feel the smile fade as I look at him. He's sitting on the side, his feet dangling off.

I walk over to him. "If you're planning on killing yourself give me a heads up so I can leave before being involved."

He smiles sadly. "I couldn't kill myself if I wanted to. There's a force field, look." With that, he throws a flower off the roof. It drifts for a moment, before being bounced right back.

"How'd you figure that out?" I mutter as I sit across from him. He smiles and stays silent.

I can't help but feel obligated to say something to him. "I'm sorry I attacked you earlier." I know it sounds halfhearted, but it is.

"It's okay. I'm sorry I didn't warn you properly. It wasn't fair of me." He says, looking into my eyes. I see it, deep in his blue eyes, the truth to his words. Behind the truth is something else, something hidden.

I sigh, and pull my legs up to my chest. "Do you know what you're going to do tomorrow?" I ask.

"Tomorrow, the next day, the day after that. No. I don't even know if I'll last that long." He turns his head away, and looks down at the crowds around our building.

I nod, not sure why. My eyes follow his line of sight, and I stare, confused at all the people. "They really don't stop partying do they?"

"Must be nice, not having to worry about anything." Peeta mutters.

At least we both share our hate of the people of the Capitol.

"It's not their fault, though." He says suddenly.

Or not. I stare at him incredulously.

He laughs at my expression. "It's all they've ever known. They grew up watching the Games just as they were told to. They were raised on the idea that they really are games. They don't know how they truly are for the people in them."

I can't believe I agreed with him a moment ago. "They should know that kids killing kids like this is wrong, no matter what they were raised on." I stand, angry at him for even suggesting I pity them.

"I'm going to sleep," I say to Peeta. "See you in the morning."

I glance over my shoulder as I walk over to the elevator. He remains in the same spot, staring down at the crowds. With a sigh, I step onto the elevator and face first into muscle.

"Wow there, lover girl." Cato smirks as he steadies me. I stare at him in shock.

"What are you doing in the elevator?" I ask incredulously.

"I've been riding it for the last 45 minutes. Thinking."

"Thinking about what?" I ask, knowing the answer.

"Tomorrow. The Games."

I open my mouth to say something, but suddenly he covers it with his hand. He tilts his head in the direction of the camera that remains on 24/7 in the elevator.

"The training center is locked tonight." He says.

Understanding his message, I glance around the elevator. With a smirk, I point upwards.

His eyes follow my finger, and he smiles. Within five minutes, we've both climbed through the top of the elevator into the shaft.

"Over here," he calls to me, bringing me next to him on a little balcony out of the elevators path.

"This is crazy," I laugh as I sit down next to him. We're rather close, but I don't mind. His warmth is comforting, unlike Peeta's closeness which was unsettling.

"Hey, it was your idea." His voice has a hint of laughter in it too.

"I wanted it to be just us. No cameras."

I notice a strange new look in his eyes. "Just us, huh?"

I blush. "Unless you want President Snow to know we illegally snuck out of our districts.

"What's he going to do about it now?" He smirks and leans his head back against the wall.

"True." I suddenly feel all too aware of our situation, and what tomorrow encompasses.

"Are you scared?" He asks suddenly, his mind clearly in the same place as mine.

Expecting his question, I respond immediately. "Yeah, a little. I haven't decided what to do tomorrow at the cornucopia."

He sits up straight suddenly, and turns to me. "Run. Don't even think about being in the bloodbath."

"But I need to get a bow. That's my only hope of surviving at all in the Games."

"You won't make it through the bloodbath. Not when everyone's targeting you because of your 11. Especially Clove, you don't even want to know some of the things she's said about you." His eyes are dark with urgency as he turns his body, completely facing me.

"How am I supposed to hunt then?" I ask, finding myself leaning closer to him.

"Snares. Make a ton of snares. And after all, I know you. You won't die of starvation, you're too smart for that." He leans back against the wall, stretching his arm around me. Normally I would find this gesture odd, but we are cramped and he is huge. I attribute his friendly gesture to being restricted. Of course, I attribute my leaning into his shoulder as the same.

"Are you going to be in the bloodbath?" I ask him, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah." His voice is heavy.

"Oh." Is all I can think to say. I don't like the idea of it, but I know he'll be fine. He has to be.

"I'm just hoping to get rid of as many people as possible, so I don't have to worry about them later." He says, as if he's trying to justify himself.

"Makes sense." I mutter.

There's a pause. We both sit, not knowing what to say or do. We both try to ignore the elephant sharing the elevator shaft with us.

Finally he breaks the silence, "So are you and lover boy allies now I guess?"

"I guess. I don't really know." I pause, not knowing how to explain Peeta to him. "I had no idea, you know."

"I know. I could tell from your reaction." So he was watching me.

I point out, "You don't seem convinced though."

"Well that's probably good, for you. That you're such a good actress. You two will get lots of sponsors." His voice drops at the last part.

"If we survive long enough to get sponsors." I mutter, lacking the faith he seems to have.

A faint smile plays across his face. "Oh, you'll survive long enough. Trust me."

Another pause begins, and I can't stand it, so I say, "Cato?"

"Yeah?" He knows what I'm about to say, so I let it pour out.

"I can't stop thinking about what we're going to do. If we-if we see each other." My voice threatens to give my fear away, so I block out all my emotions.

There's a long pause as he thinks. I know he's trying to choose his words carefully.

He turns to face me again, and my body instantly misses his warmth. "Katniss, if I see you, I can promise you I won't kill you."

My mind scoffs at his words and I say, "What if it's just us two left?"

He smirks. "I have no idea."

Exasperated at him, I say, "Cato, I can't kill you."

Again, he simply smirks. "I know. I had a feeling you'd say that."

"Why don't you seem so worried about this?" I am nearly shouting now, trying to get a straight answer out of him.

"Because I'm not. I won't kill you, I know that. Even if it's the two of us left." He widens his eyes at me obviously, as if I'm missing something.

And then it clicks. "So what, we'll be at a stalemate?"

Leaning back, he smiles deviously. "Exactly."

Suddenly, I think perhaps he has thought this out more than I thought. "Never, in Hunger Games history have the two last tributes refused to kill each other." I say slowly.

"I know, it would be crazy if we were the first, wouldn't it?" He looks over at me and grins.

"What do you think they'll do?" I wonder, thinking of gruesome ways to pit us against each other.

"Throw something at us. Something that will take out one of us and then crown the other victor." He replies casually.

His plan finally unfolds completely in my mind, and I am shocked at the genius of it. "So basically, we let them choose who lives and who dies."

"Basically." He says, proud of himself.

I laugh at him, "I can't believe you thought of that yourself."

"Impressed, are we?" He smirks.

"Don't get too cocky." I say as I poke him in the stomach.

"I can be very cocky." He grins, leaning closer to me than ever.

"I know." I laugh, as I push him away from me.

He looks at me pointedly for a moment, doing that thing where he stares deeply into my eyes. "Tell me more about you and Peeta."

I'm shocked. That was the last thing I was expecting him to say. "What's there to tell?"

He looks at me knowingly. "I don't know. Something. I can you're 'relationship' isn't completely one sided."

My eyes flash with realization as it hits me. The bread incident.

"See, I told you there's something. Tell me." He urges.

"Why are you so curious?" I ask, blocking out his attempts at getting me to say it.

"Because I've missed the last 6 years or your life. I've missed you, remember?" His voice softens slightly, and I can tell he's speaking the truth.

I smile slightly. "I've missed you too." And I mean it.

Satisfied, he leans back on the wall and urges me on. "So?"

"So, I was starving. We had no food, and I was about to collapse. I happened to be in front of the bakery, when Peeta walked outside." I feel like I'm watching the memory flash across my eyes. "He was throwing out the burnt bread. Instead of throwing it to the pigs, he threw it to me." I don't notice the faint smile across my lips. "He saved my life.

"Damn it." Cato says, bringing me back from my flashback.

"What?" I ask, confused.

His eyes darken. "Now I owe him. That makes it a lot harder to kill him."

I can't help but scoff. "You don't owe him anything, it's not your life he saved."

"Yeah, but it's you." He says as if I should understand whatever is going on in his head.

I shake my head. "You can be really overprotective sometimes, you know that?"

He smirks. "Yeah. And cocky, remember?"

Feeling the lighthearted air return to our conversation, I bump his shoulder playfully. "Very cocky."

"You like it." He says as he bumps me back.

"What, your overprotectivness or your cockiness?" I ask as I bump his shoulder even harder. If it wasn't for his muscle he'd have a bruise tomorrow.

"Both." He says as he bumps me so hard I nearly topple.

He grabs my hands and pulls me up to him as I say, "Maybe, looks like you'll never know!"

He gets a crazy look in his eye as he pulls me in front of him. He holds me still for a moment, as I'm practically sitting in his lap. He winks at me, and then lunges toward me. He lands on top of me, and suddenly starts tickling me. My world stops as I fight to get him off of me, and I scream with laughter.

Damn it. He remembers how ticklish I've always been.

I feel my body burning with intensity as he tickles me. I laugh loudly, struggling underneath him, helpless. There's no chance of me pushing his huge body off of mine.

"Stop, stop!" I beg as I feel a tear run out of my eye. Laughing, he finally stops, and hovers over me.

I giggle, and look into his clear blue eyes. Eyes that I can't bear to lose.

"Promise me you'll be safe tomorrow. Don't let anyone kill you." I say, needing to hear his promise.

He looks down at me, and says assuredly, "I'll be fine. I've been training way too long to be taken out in the bloodbath."

Not hearing his promise to be safe irritates me. "Still." I say, "Don't trust the other Careers."

"Of course I don't trust them. The only person I would even trust in the arena is-" he pauses, and takes a moment to gaze at my face, as if taking it in for the last time, "you."

I smile up at him, knowing that I can't let this moment end just yet. "I trust you too." And I do.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, hi guys. I am so sorry it took so long to update! I had four major exams these past few weeks, so it's been crazy! BUT IT'S SUMMER! Officially, for me of course. So you can expect updates a lot quicker now! <strong>

**I do want to ask everyone something. I've been in my prewriting stages of the rest of the chapters, and once we get in to the games I've had the plan to change this story rating to M. Mostly because it's a violent concept to begin with, brutal murder. And also, in the Games, the characters all get a little darker. You have some sadistic characters, some characters who get twisted. And of course, there's all the death and sadness. So I think I will definitely be changing the rating after this chapter! Let me know if that's okay with you!**

**Also, please review! It adds pressure to update faster (; And of course I love hearing what you have to say! **


	5. Games

The night is restless. I toss and turn, and as hard as I try, I don't get a moment of sleep. Every time I close my eyes I see flashes of all the previous Games I have watched: tributes being hunted, slicing each other to bits, and the infamous finale that ends all Games. Each bit of violence I have seen becomes engraved in my head. The fact that this violence will be my reality in just a matter of a few hours is surreal.

I hear my door creak open, and realize it must be time. I sit up and see Cinna. He doesn't smile, doesn't grimace. He simply nods a greeting to me. He doesn't seem surprised that I haven't slept. I crawl out of bed, and he takes me to the roof where a huge hovercraft is waiting.

Embellished on its side is a giant P, which I assume stands for Panem. Our wonderful country that sacrifices its young for the entertainment of the Capitol.

I am frozen in some sort of current that guides me into the hovercraft. There, a woman in a long white jacket comes toward me with a needle. I want to struggle, but I still can't move.

"Don't worry," she says, preparing my arm to be injected, "This is so the Gamemakers can always find you in the arena." Wouldn't want to lose a tribute.

At last, I am released from the current that holds me in place. I stumble forward, and Cinna enters the room as the woman leaves. He looks at me for a moment, and I can tell he's trying to keep his face void of emotions.

The hovercraft begins to soar through the air at lightning speed. I look at the window, and simply see a blur of the sky and clouds. In the distance, I can faintly see another hovercraft with another tribute on it.

The windows suddenly turn black, and I assume we're getting close. I look at Cinna and he nods, confirming my thoughts. I stand and stretch my legs, pacing the small room.

A loud thud confirms our landing, and we travel through the freezing current down a tube. We follow instructions to what is called the Launch Room. Basically, the room where tributes leave the real world to go into the Games. In the districts, we call it the Stockyard.

A small breakfast is laid out for me, and I meander over to it. Simple: two eggs, a glass of juice, a piece of bacon, and a small loaf of bread. The same meal 23 other tributes are eating right now.

I eat it slowly, not able to enjoy it like I have other Capitol food. My stomach is twisting with nerves, and it settles all wrong with the food. I finally finish, and Cinna has me shower and brush my teeth. He braids my hair, and dresses me in my outfit. It's simple enough, thin pants and a shirt, with a large hooded jacket. The boots are sturdy, and good for running.

We sit together, hand in hand. Waiting. It feels like hours go by, and I can only feel my stomach getting worse and worse. Within an hour or less, I can be dead. My family will watch me be slaughtered.

I try to push out these feelings and focus on my plan. Run. Simple, an easy fit for me. While half of my brain tells me to run and get the bow, the sensible side of me tells me to get the hell away from the bloodbath.

Cinna looks at me, and says, "I almost forgot. I have this for you." He pulls out the gold mockingjay pin, and motions for me to lean forward. With a small smile on his lips he fastens it to my jacket. "I got it off the outfit you wore on the train."

"Thank you," I manage to say, my words just above a whisper. I look at him, hoping my face shows the gratitude I feel for him. Not just for the pin, for everything. Making me noticed, and helping me through everything. "For everything," I add, hoping he understands.

He smiles and nods. It is an unspoken message of gratitude between the two of us. Suddenly, a calm female voice fills the room and tells me it is time to go to the launching pad. I walk over and stand on the metal plate that will raise me to the arena.

"It's going to be okay Katniss. Just do what Haymitch told you to do, run and find water. Do not try to be in the bloodbath." He grabs my hand one last time and turns me to face him. "Remember this. I'm not allowed to bet, but if I could, my money would be on you."

His confession warms me, and all I can do is give half a smile and nod. I can feel my whole body shaking now, and my stomach feels like it's about to rip into a thousand pieces.

"Good luck, girl on fire." Is all he says as he steps away from me. Circular glass suddenly surrounds me, and I feel the plate start to rise. I nod to him, and he taps his fingers under his chin. Head high.

I lift my chin, and prepare for battle.

I'm engorged in darkness for at least 20 seconds. I feel the plate suddenly begin to slow, and a burst of light suddenly surrounds me. Bright sunlight shines in my eyes, and I can smell pine trees. A gust of wind blows my face, and I struggle to make out my surroundings.

The voice of Claudius Templesmith fills the air around me. "Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!"

"_Daddy! Look, I got one!" I screamed in delight as I ran toward my first kill. A squirrel, rather old and large. It lay on the ground dead now, with my arrow sticking out of it. I pulled the arrow out and brought it to him, pleased with myself._

"_Wow, you truly are a natural." He said proudly, as he tucked the carcass in the leather bag he always carried with him. He pulled me into his arms and swung me around. "Katniss, you're going to be a great hunter someday. You got my blood running through you."_

_I squealed in delight as I spun in his arms, and I saw the forest flashing around me in a blur. I landed gently on the ground as he carefully released me. _

"_Daddy?" I asked, preparing to ask him a question I knew I wasn't supposed to know about. _

"_Yes?"_

"_Yesterday, I was in the square and I saw that old drunk man, Haymin." I said rather quietly as I tore a leaf off a bush._

"_Haymitch, darling. Haymitch." He says darkly, a shadow falling across his face._

"_Yeah, him. What happened to him daddy? Why is he so mad and alone?" I asked innocently, as an image of his slobbering, drunk form flashed through my mind._

"_Why, did he say something to you?" he asks, and I shake my head. He sighs deeply, and motions for me to sit down. "You see, Katniss, there's this thing that the Capitol does every year. It's called the Hunger Games."_

_I nod with comprehension, having heard the name before._

"_The Hunger Games is the way the Capitol continues to exert its control over all the districts. They make us send a boy and a girl, aged 12-18 every year to fight each other in an arena." He hesitates for a moment, before adding, "They kill each other until there is one person left. The winner."_

_I gasp in shock. "Why does the Capitol want us to kill each other? I don't understand." I say._

"_That's something you must have to ask President Snow," he says darkly. "But for Haymitch, he won, Katniss. He won and now he gets to live with what he's done, what they put him through. It's not his fault he's like that. The Games change people, make them darker. They turn you into a killer if you want to survive. It's not fair, and it's not right. But it's what they do to us."_

It's what they do to us.

Sixty seconds. I stand on my plate, surveying the area. All twenty three other tributes are placed equidistantly away, in a circle surrounding the golden cornucopia. It is filled to the top with everything from weapons to food. The most valuable supplies stay close to the iron horn, and scattered away from it are smaller, less valuable assets.

I glance around, and see we are standing on a flat, dirt field. To my right is a lake. To my left and back are thick woods. I see off in the distance behind the horn is a field full of tall grass, taller than me.

I look at the woods again, trying to see how far off they go. It's hard to tell for sure, but they seem to stretch for miles. I look to the cornucopia again, quickly surveying it. That's when I see it. Resting on top of a bag of apples, my bow and a silver sheath of arrows.

I consider it for a moment. I'm a fast runner. Could I run and grab it and quickly leave? Would I make it before the other tributes? While most of the Careers have size and muscle, that slows them down. I may be able to take a few down before I leave.

I glance around the ring of tributes and see Cato, diagonally from me. He is focused, staring down a set of swords set rather close to him. Rather too close if you ask me. It seems the Gamemakers strategically placed those swords to be sure of a good bloodbath.

I notice the sunlight shining on his eyes, and pause for a second, and admire the clear blue color. Suddenly, the gong has gone off and he is gone in a flash. I missed my chance!

Seizing the moment, I spring diagonally towards the woods. I see a pack lying ten feet away from me, and I dive toward it at the same time another boy does. I struggle with him for a moment, and, without hesitating, I let my fist fly toward his face. He screams in shock and pain and falls back. Suddenly, his hand drops from his face and his eyes widen in shock. He coughs, and blood falls from his mouth and he falls forward.

There's a silver knife glinting in his back. I look up to see who threw it, only to see Clove preparing to throw a second at me. I remember training; she doesn't miss. I stumble to my feet and start to run in a crazy pattern, hoping to make aiming at me hard. I hear the knife whistle and I lift the pack up to cover my face. I hear a thud, and the knife has stuck in the backpack.

I turn and see her infuriated face and I grin at her. Then, I turn and run.

- Cato's POV

The moment the gong sounds, I'm already halfway to the swords placed close to me before the other tributes have even moved from their places. I grab the third sword from the right, a large, sharp one that will kill quickly and fiercly. Once I slice somebody with it, there's no question of if they will die. They will die.

I run to the closest tribute to me, the boy from District 8. He must have known he would die first when he saw he was placed directly next to me, because he doesn't look surprised to see me run towards him. He turns in the opposite direction and tries to run from me, but I quickly catch up with him and grab his shoulder.

He lets out a terrified yell, and I turn him around towards me. Before he can even say 'please', I push the sword straight through his stomach, causing him to fall to the ground. Blood pours from his wound, and he lets out a few choked breath before his eyes roll in the back of his head.

It's been about 45 seconds; I glance around at my allies and see Clove aiming a knife. As I run toward the center of the action, I watch as it strikes a boy in the back as he fought with another tribute.

"Nice, Clove." I yell to her as I watch her aim again. It isn't until I glance forward to see her target that my blood runs cold. Katniss must know she's being aimed at; shes running in random, sporadic directions towards the woods. But I know Clove has had years of practice, even on moving targets like this.

I time my intervention carefully. Right as Clove swings back and prepares to release the knife, I yell the first thing that comes to my mind, "FUCK!"

Just as she releases the knife, she turns and gives me an irritated, yet somewhat amused look. We both turn our heads together, however, and see Katniss smirk as the knife lands in her backpack she was carrying. Good. Now at least I know she has some sort of weapon.

"What was that for?" Clove asks me sharply, infuriated at her miss.

I quickly grab another tribute trying to run and shove my sword into his side, staining the silver blade with his crimson blood. "They didn't include a good quality spear." I say aimlessly, listing the first thing that comes to my head.

"Yeah they did," She says as she stabs a small girl in the back. The girls squeaks loudly in surprise and starts to cry, not yet dead. I walk over, and swiftly bring my sword to her stomach, ending her misery.

"Oh." Is all I say in reply. I quickly rejoin the fight, and chase after the girl from District 7. Surprisingly, she's pretty fast, so as she ropes around the Cornucopia I grab the spear Clove pointed out. Once I get within a good range of her, I stop running and heave the spear toward her small body. It embeds itself deep in her back, and she falls to the ground with a scream.

I rush over to her, and press the spear deeper into her body. She begins sobbing loudly, and chokes out blood onto the grass that will soon become her deathbed. I pull out the spear, preparing for another kill, when I hear her whisper, "Please,". I'm surprised she has the strength to speak, but it doesn't faze me. I simply turn, and walk back into the fight.

The sound of screaming fills the space around me. The smell of blood is the air, and I hear moans coming from the several bodies laying around me. Without sparing them a second to beg, I slash through them, ending their misery.

All the remaining, living tributes have escaped; Now it's just us Careers and 9 dead tributes.

"Only nine?" Marvel yells in anger, as he swings a spear of his own into a girl's body. "That's terrible."

"Yeah, but look. Barely any of the survivors went for supplies, they just ran. They won't last a day." Clove points out, sounding bored.

All I can do is feel a slight warmth inside to know that Katniss has supplies and a knife, thanks to Clove. I can tell she's still pissed off about it too, because when Glimmer points out that one of our victims is still alive, Clove goes to kill him and doesn't come back for 15 minutes. That's a long, painful death.

- Katniss' POV:

I run for what feels like miles. Through the thick woods, trying to get as far from the cornucopia as I can. All I can think about is the distance between me and the other tributes. I'm determined to make it as large as I can.

- Cato's POV:

I twist the silver knife in my hands idly, watching as my other allies sort out our supplies. Clove and Glimmer are arguing over how to store all the food and the supplies safely. It's getting really annoying. I glance around at the stacks of food we have, hoping the Capitol took my hint about good food.

I stand slowly¸ and begin to circle different piles of weapons. My eyes scan them, searching for a particular weapon. And there it is. Katniss' silver bow and sheath of arrows. I grin smugly, and pick them up and drop them in my pile of claimed weapons. Glimmer raises her eyebrows at this, but doesn't say anything. With a wink in her direction, I turn and walk back to my seat near the woods.

Marvel's hovering over the weapons pile, eyeing a few swords that I've already claimed. He looks tempted by them, and glances over at me. He shudders when he meets my glare, and immediately steps away from the swords. Pleased, I turn my gaze back to the girls who have finally found a way to store our supplies safely. I glance over at the boy from 3, who allied with us only because of his ability to protect our supplies. If it wasn't for that he'd be dead already.

I suppose it's a good thing we didn't ally with the tributes from 4. They would be dead weight to carry, anyways. I look idly over at the corpses covering the field. One in particular that Glimmer took out seems to be missing an arm and half a leg. I raise my eyebrows slightly and look her way.

She's hot, I'll give her that. Not really my type though. I wouldn't have pinned her for a killer, but aren't we all now?

I sigh loudly, impatient. I want to start hunting soon. Mostly for the killing, but I also want to clear out of the way so they can get the dead bodies out before they start to stink.

Clove looks at me. "We're about ready to go hunt. Everybody bring only what you can carry." She glances over at the boy from 3. "Here." She says, throwing him a machete. "Use this on anyone who comes near here.

She turns to me and rolls her eyes. We both know he wouldn't stand a chance in a fight. That's why she gave him the machete. Hopefully its appearance will do more for intimidating the other tributes than his appearance.

"Let's go." I yell at the others, and walk off into the woods. I don't have to look behind me to know that Clove, Glimmer, and Marvel are following closely behind.

After about an hour of walking, I hear footsteps behind me speed up a little, and suddenly Glimmer slings her thin frame over my shoulder.

"Hey babe," she says in a low voice, so only I can hear. I let out a chuckle and smirk. Pleased, she continues. "I've been watching you this whole time we've been behind you. I gotta say, you from behind is not a bad sight." She whispers as her arms drifts around my waist.

I simply smirk in return, and she seems to be a little put out at my lack of responses to her advances. She releases her grip on me, but continues to walk next to me as if we're equals. Ha.

"So who are you hoping to hunt tonight?" she asks casually¸ as if I didn't just ignore her a few minutes ago.

"Anyone." I say simply, knowing the one person I don't want to hunt tonight.

"Well I'm hoping to find the girl from 12. You know, the one who beat you in training scores?" She said with malice in her voice.

I stop suddenly, and turn and push her back towards a tree. She stumbles back, but doesn't fall. "Hey!" She cries as she regains her balance.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Marvel yells as he tries to rush over, but he is stopped by Clove.

"Don't mention training scores ever again in this arena. Not hers. All that matters, little girl, is that mine is higher than yours so if you want to try to piss me off again, I'll show you just how I got my score." I say menacingly, with no hint of playfulness of my face.

She represses a shudder and nods, trying to look confident. Instead, she just look like she needs to throw up.

I continue the pace without another glance at them. I vaguely hear Marvel checking if Glimmer was okay, and I hear Clove chuckle evilly when Glimmer says her arms hurts.

We continue in silence for another hour.

- Katniss' POV:

Eventually, I slow to a walk. My throat is dry, and I cough loudly. Trying to stifle my cough, I stuff part of my jacket into my mouth.

Finally, once I have caught my breath, I study my surroundings. I stand still, silent. I listen for any sign of other tributes. All I can detect is the calls from the birds.

I sit down slowly, and empty out the contents of the backpack I grabbed. I am shocked that I ended up doing pretty well, as I study the supplies I have. A sleeping bag, a pair of sunglasses, an empty container for holding water, a medium length of rope, and a pack of dried fruit. And of course, I have the knife from Clove.

Knowing I could have done a lot worse, I reload my pack. Sun is beginning to set now, and I pick out a tree that I will stay in for the night. I set a few snares, hoping for a decent breakfast. As it grows darker, I climb high up the tree to be safe. Nighttime is the time where the Careers always seem to hunt best.

I tie myself in my sleeping bag to a branch that's hidden in a thick section of leaves. There I lay, still and silent, until the anthem comes on that announces the tributes deaths: The girl from District 3, the boy from District 4, the girl from District 4, the girl from District 6, the boy from District 7, the girl from District 7, the boy from District 8, the girl from District 8, and the girl from District 10. 9 total people are dead, and it's barely been a few hours into the Games.

I close my eyes and try to shut out the faces of the dead. I figure I should try to get some sleep. I close my eyes, and hope for at least a few hours. I can feel my restless night from before taking its toll on me.

It can't have even been two hours before I awake. I hear voices off in the distance, and they're getting closer. I freeze when I realize who it is- the Careers.

I become completely still, barely breathing. I listen intently as I hear them come closer and closer to my tree.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Glimmer calls as she prances around, laughing. She screams loudly, "I know someone's around here, we found your snares!"

My heart stops as I realize how stupid I was to leave them out. I should have disguised them much better. I don't breathe as I hear the others join her.

"I'm telling you, there has to be someone near here. There are snares!" Marvel says, sounding irritated.

"Just because there's snares doesn't mean there's people. Think about it, was there food in the snares?" Clove's voice sounds mocking, like an adult talking to a child.

"No," Marvel says quietly, sounding even more irritated, "But-"

"But nothing. The fact that the food is gone could mean someone has already came and gone." Cato snaps at Marvel, sounding furious. "And if there is someone here, the fact that you two came prancing and screaming down here completely tipped them off that we're here, idiot." He says, and Marvel remains silent. Slowly, the four spread out and begin searching for me.

I know Cato must know I'm here. He taught me one of the particular snares I used. I close my eyes and take a quiet breath, my lungs aching for oxygen. I slow my breathing to quiet, slow, and longs breaths.

I hear them growing less interested by the minute. Clove wants to go back and get food; Cato wants to search somewhere else; Glimmer wants to sleep; Marvel wants food as well.

Cato, Clove, and Glimmer begin discussing their next move. Marvel, clearly still wanting to prove a point, continues searching. I grow more tense as he nears my tree, studying the base intently. He must have seen something, because suddenly, his head snaps up, and his dark brown eyes meet mine. My footprints. He must have seen my footprints at the base of the tree; they'd be deeper there since I had to push my way up.

My eyes widen and my heart drops. I frantically begin to move now, untying myself as fast as I can.

"GUYS! HERE! I FOUND HER!" Marvel screams as he runs over to the others, and grabs his spear. He leads them back, and I hear all their cheers as they see me.

"Oh fire girl, where are you going?" Clove's sinister voice calls out to me. I hear Glimmer cackle as they all continue to yell at me.

"Where you going, baby?" I hear Cato yell, giving me a strange feeling throughout my body. Hearing him taunt me just feels so out of place.

I throw my backpack over my shoulder and begin to climb. I go higher and higher into the strong tree, going far up into more risky branches.

I glance down, and see them having a heated conversation. Finally, Glimmer takes Marvel's spear and begins to climb after me. I sit for a moment, and watch her fumble up the branches. She reaches perhaps 1/6 of the height I am at, before toppling down. Clove takes the spear from her and tries to throw it up at me, but misses. They all look at Cato, knowing of his spear throwing abilities.

My blood runs cold as he steps forward confidently, preparing to spear me to my death.

* * *

><p><strong>And there you have it, the Games have begun! I hope everyone was okay with the rating change! Please please please review and let me know what you think! Thank you! 3<strong>


	6. Betrayal

**Hi everyone. I'm sure some of you have wondered why it took me so long to past this chapter. A few weeks ago, I found someone had been reposting my story on livejournal and taking credit for the whole thing. I was upset, and I asked the author to take it down. It turned into this huge, lengthy ordeal and it is now, finally taken down. I was really upset to see this happen, but I'm glad it's now all finally worked out, and hopefully I won't have to go through that again! With that said, I am so sorry this took so long, I just wasn't motivated to write when I knew someone was reposting my work. So too much talk, I'm sorry. Enjoy the chapter! **

* * *

><p>He makes a show of it. He flexes his muscles and glares up in my direction. Only I realize that he is glaring at me because they caught me. I stare down at him, my eyes wide in fear. I know he doesn't miss, and this is hardly one of his most difficult shots. I'm stuck in a tree with nowhere to go, and he has a sharp weapon that will kill me in seconds.<p>

I tremble; the night is cold and the fear is deep through my body. All I can hear is a rushing noise in my ears, and in the distance I hear the jeers of the other Careers as they egg Cato on. His trademark smirk never leaves his face as he stares up at me.

He aims toward my heart, and I look down at him. I can't move, I can't speak. I have no idea what to do. Suddenly, he tilts his head to the side. Twice. At first I assume he's just stretching more, showing off for the other Careers.

It's not until the spear has launched through the air directly toward my heart that I realize what he was saying. I suddenly leap to the side, dodging the sharp weapon by a fraction of a second.

Yells of fury come from the Careers and I look down in time to see Cato punch the base of the tree. He leaves a dent the size of my head.

I smirk down at them, before I begin climbing higher. It's dangerous to go so high, I know, but it's not long before they will try again to kill me.

"What now, Cato?" Glimmer asks, her squeaky voice immediately annoying me. I glance down at her and notice her hanging her thin, bony arm over his muscular shoulder. It just looks awkward to me.

"She has to come down eventually. And it will be dark soon. Let's just camp here." He glances up at me again, only to see I've climbed another 15 feet. Rolling his eyes, he pushes her arm off of his shoulders.

Grumbling, they all work quickly to set up a makeshift campsite. They eat their share of food they brought, and light a fire. They periodically look up at me to see if I've moved.

Without anything else to do, I get out my sleeping bag and tie myself to a branch so I won't fall. I know I can't sleep safely, but I allow myself to rest. I close my eyes and listen to the forest around me. I note the tune of mockingjays as they sing to each other.

My peace is soon disturbed, of course, by the Careers. But this time their focus isn't on me. They're recounting their murders in the cornucopia.

"She was trying to run so I through an ax straight at one of her arms, and I wasn't expecting it to slice all the way off!" Glimmer cackles, seemingly proud of her dismembering of a girl. "But then she dropped and I had a few minutes to play with her before she died of blood loss." She grins evilly and pulls out a particularly jagged knife. "This puppy ended up getting a lot of use on her." Clove and Marvel crack up laughing, and even Cato chuckles.

"That's not nearly as good as that one girl that Clove got." Marvel says, nodding to Clove as if he's complimenting her. "You know, the one who wasn't all the way dead."

Clove's eyes light up as she speaks, "That one had it bad." She smirks, as she pulls out her sling full of different size knifes. The one she pulls out gives me an involuntary shudder. It's long and thin, and each point is a different length. They're all razor sharp, and lethal. "I took it nice and slow with this baby."

Suddenly, she glances up at me to see me staring down at her. "Oh hey, District 12. Do you like this knife?" She grins and points it up at my direction. I flinch for a moment, thinking she was going to through it.

She laughs. "Yeah right, like I'm just gonna throw you another one of my knives." Her smirks turns to a glare. "I just want you to know, when I get you in my hands, you're in for a long, painful death at the hands of this knife." She grins and slams the knife into a wooden log next to her for emphasis.

"It's all a matter of time, Fire Girl." Glimmer cheers at her threat, and Marvel and Cato both smirk up at me.

I just glare down at her, refusing to say a word. They finally lose interest with me, and return to their conversation.

"Well, I may have given a particularly painful death, but if you want to talk about death count, Cato's definitely the one to talk about." Clove says, nodding to him.

He smirks. "Well, I like to be efficient. I wanted as many dead as possible." He says, with a dark chuckle at the end. "That's not to say none of them suffered though."

They all laugh, and their conversation turns to the tricks of the Gamemakers. They bet on what sort of creatures they'll run into towards the finale of the Games.

At least two hours pass, and the Careers have finally fallen silent. I look down to see Clove is watching me, obviously staying up to wait for me to try to escape. I stare at her for a minute, before returning back to the safety of my branch.

My heart starts to race as I become more and more panicked. The best time for me to escape is when the Careers are asleep, but with Clove watching me so closely, it seems impossible. But once the sun rises and they all wake up, they will surely come up with a new, better strategy to kill me.

I glance back down only to meet Clove's stony eyes again. I sigh and sit back on my branch.

Another hour. Clove is still awake, fiddling with her knives. I peek over to see her throwing them in a lizard on a nearby tree trunk.

"Psst!" I hear suddenly, a soft shrill whisper floating through the air. "Katniss." The voice says.

My head whips around to the tree behind me, and I see the smallest girl to ever be in the Games sitting on a branch. Rue.

She smiles at me, and raises a finger to her lips to keep me silent. I nod in understanding, my eyes wide with curiosity. How did she manage to get here so silently? If my hunter ears didn't even pick up a hint of her arrival, she must be far stealthier than any animal.

She points to something in my tree, about five feet below my branch. I follow her finger to see a nest hanging from the oak. A tracker jacker nest. Fear fills my heart as I realize the danger we're all in. I look back to Rue with panicked eyes, only to see her mimicking a sawing motion, and pointing down to the Careers.

I nod in understanding, swallowing my fear. Hopefully, if I can get the nest down fast enough I will remain safe in the tree.

I glance at the nest again, wondering how I will pull this off. I look back up at Rue only to find that she is gone. She is far more tricky than I thought. I find myself hoping she'll get far in the Games. At the same time, I hope I won't end up being the last one with her.

I quickly pack my things in my backpack, save for the knife I got from Clove. I hold it between my teeth as I silently drop down to the branch the nest is on. I glance around the tree to make sure Clove hasn't noticed. She hasn't; she is sharpening her knifes on a rock now. _Good_, I think, _the noise will distract her_.

I pull out the knife and position it at the correct angle to drop the branch. I purposefully angle it as far away from Cato as possible, hoping it will buy him time to run before they attack. The speed I will cut should mean the branch will be down in 15 seconds. Hopefully the tracker jackers won't wake up before then.

I swallow once, and begin to saw. Quickly, I move the blade back and forth as it presses into the branch. I hear the buzzing begin to build up in the nest and saw even faster. All I can think of is that Cato better run fast.

In the flash of a second, the branch falls with a loud snap. I lean over and watch it hit the ground and chaos erupts.

Glimmer starts screaming, with five tracker jackers at her throat. Clove got a head start on the others, and is nowhere to be seen. Marvel tries to help Glimmer, but he has several tracker jackers attacking him. My eyes dart everywhere for Cato, but I don't see him. Confused, I keep searching. I know I didn't see him run off, and I would have noticed.

Glimmer and Marvel dart off, undoubtedly to the lake, with the entire pack of tracker jackers behind them. Confused, I quickly drop out of the tree, preparing to make my exit.

Suddenly, one of the sleeping bags unzips.

"Cato!" I cry, running over to him.

He chuckles as he crawls out of the fabric bed. "That was very clever, Kat." He gives me a look of approval, filled with a hint of laughter. For some reason, I think he finds his allies pain funny.

"That was pretty clever yourself," I say, nodding to the sleeping bag, "I didn't even notice you in it."

"I heard you sawing and added two and two. I was hidden in there before the nest even dropped." He smirks, obviously proud of himself.

"You heard it in your sleep?" I ask, shocked. I thought I was being quiet.

"I wasn't asleep," he says. He hesitates, and then adds, "I wanted to make sure Clove wouldn't get to you somehow and I wouldn't be able to stop her." Warmth fills my whole body and I suddenly feel safe, as ironic as that is, just to know he was looking out for me.

He opens his mouth as if he's about to say something else, when suddenly, a scream pierces the air, way too close for comfort. He looks at me fiercely and says, "Run."

And like hell I do.

- Cato's POV:

I run through the thick woods, looking for the source of the scream. Perhaps if I'm lucky, it's Glimmer, dying from the stings of the tracker jackers. I suddenly stop as I hear the scream again. It's definitely her. It sounds as if she's right behind me. I turn around, and slowly walk to the source of the sound.

There she is, lying on the ground on her side. Her face is away from me, and her body is shaking.

"Glimmer." I say, walking closer to her. If she's suffering, I may as well put her out of her misery. "Glimmer." I say again, standing right behind her.

I lean down, preparing to flip her on her back, when suddenly I feel a knife fly across the top of my forearm from behind. I instantly turn around to see my attacker, only to have Glimmer shoot up from the ground and leap at me with a huge knife of her own.

Of course. Katniss was right about them betraying us.

I sidestep her, and she falls forward. Straight into Marvel. He catches her, and the two of them turn toward me, poised to kill.

"Well this is pretty early in the Games, isn't it?" I say in a sarcastically friendly tone. I glare at the two of them as the edge toward me. "Where's Clove?" I ask.

"Back at the cornucopia, waiting for you to return." Marvel smirks, as if he expects I won't.

Now it's my turn to smirk. "Well, I'm sure she'll be pleasantly surprised when I return with your bodies."

Glimmer lets out a loud laugh. "Please, don't pretend you can take us both. Sure, if it was just one of us you'd probably win. But the two of us against you? Sorry, babe. You don't stand a chance."

She smirks evilly, and adds, "I'll be sure to tell your District 12 scum all about how much you suffered when I kill her."

That takes me aback. I look at her, confused. "What makes you think she'd care about that?" I ask.

"Well," Marvel begins, "Glimmer seems to think she knows something about you two."

"And what would that be?" I ask, boredly.

Glimmer smiles, "It was so weird. The night before the Games, I got bored. So I decided to try to go down to the training center. But it was locked, so I got back in the elevator. But interestingly enough, I heard voices coming from the elevator shaft." She smiles evilly at me and narrows her eyes. "It was you and Fire Girl. Reminiscing about the old days."

My blood runs cold and I feel my whole body tense in anger. I want to kill her, feel her body fall limp in my arms.

She steps forward to me, an evil look painted on her face as she slices her knife across her fingertip casually. "I can't wait to find her. Once I do, she won't stand a chance." She glances at Marvel, and then adds, "Do you know what we're going to do to her, Cato?"

I take a step closer to them, and a growl comes deep from my chest. "You're not going to touch her." I say, my body and mind demanding her blood.

"That's where you're wrong." She says. The three of us circle each other slowly, all watching the others, waiting for the first strike. She continues to taunt me. "We're gonna tie her up to a tree, and cut all over her with Clove's special knife. You know she'll love to take part in this. We'll cut her slowly, deep and shallow. But not enough to die."

Another growl comes from my chest as I lunge towards her suddenly. She quickly sidesteps me, and we reform our menacing circle.

"You know what else," She smirks. "Marvel seems to think she's really…pretty. So we were thinking that Marvel could have some alone time with her, if you know what I mean." She sends me her trademark sexy wink, and adds, "Whether she's willing or not, I'm sure he could have his fun with her."

This time it's Marvel who I lunge toward, except he's not quick enough to dodge me. I push him to the ground, and in an instant I raise my fist and it lands squarely in his face. He yells in pain, and pushes me back off him.

His face is gushing blood, and I can tell I broke his nose. With a smirk, I move forward again, but suddenly Glimmer is in my way with her damn knife.

Out of breath, and with her eyes wide and crazy, she adds one more thing. "You know, Cato, not to be forward or anything, but it sounded like you cared about her. A lot." She takes a daring step forward to me, and holds the tip of the knife against my chest. I pause for a moment, knowing she won't have the chance to get it any farther. "In fact," She smiles, "I would say you lo-"

With a roar of anger, I throw her back, and her body flies through the air into a tree. Marvel is suddenly at my side, and I throw my fist out towards his face. He dodges it, and I turn to him, ready to snap his neck when suddenly I feel a dagger enlodge itself in my calf.

I let out an angry yell, and turn to kill Glimmer. But all I see is her and Marvel hauling ass into the distance. Confused, I turn again to see Clove at my side.

"What?" I ask, wondering where she came from.

"I am so sorry, Cato. I was aiming for Glimmer because she was right beside you and then she moved and you moved and it hit you. But at least they're gone." She says, quickly helping me down.

She looks at her dagger, and with a grimace she looks at me. "This is gonna hurt." She grabs the handle, and pulls it out swiftly. Immediately, searing pain shoots through my leg.

"Fuck," I mutter, looking at the deep wound in my leg.

"There's some medicine we can put on it back at the cornucopia. You'll be better within a day." She says, and she pulls me up. "Here, you can lean on me. It's only about half a mile back."

I hate having to depend on her to move, but the pain shooting through my leg proves that I can't make it a few steps without her. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, feeling her muscles tense as she tries to support me.

Slowly, we begin to make our way back to camp.

- Katniss' POV:

"I think this could actually work," I say for what has to be the 5th time. I can hardly believe everything that has happened in the last few hours. After I ran from Cato and the screaming, I ended up finding Rue. Or rather, she found me. Something tells me she's never been too far from me.

I hunted and we both enjoyed a rabbit along with some fruit that she picked. Somehow, in the midst of our meal, we formulated a plan of attack on the Careers. In shock, I look at the tiny girl in front of me. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I ask her, knowing the danger she's putting herself in.

She nods. "I'll be long gone by the time the Careers get to the fires. I'm more worried about you."

"I'll be fine," I say, worried, "it's not me the Careers are gonna be chasing after." I look at the tiny creature in front of me. She's almost the same size as Prim, and has the same round eyes and caring attitude. I gulp, not wanting to see this poor girl get hurt.

"Look Katniss, we have to do something. Something that can give us a chance of… surviving." She says, sounding mature beyond her years.

I know she's right. It's the first time there's ever been a true alliance other than the Careers launching an offensive. On the Careers nonetheless. It's crazy, dangerous, and stupid. And I think it may be the best thing to do.

So we agree to try it. Leaving Rue is the hardest thing I've done so far in the Games. I can't help but feel like I'm leaving her to die, alone and unprotected.

She must know how worried I am, because just before she climbs her tree to hop away, she touches my arm and says, "It's going to be okay."

And then she's gone. And so am I. I run through the woods as fast as I can, silently making my way to the cornucopia. It's only about an hour run before I see it glinting through the thick trees.

I creep through the woods, hiding just along the edge of the huge field. It's crazy that it's only been two days in the Games. It feels like I was almost murdered here a lifetime ago. I edge a little closer to the entrance of the cornucopia, still not seeing anyone. Did they really leave their base camp unguarded?

In shock, I see no one sitting outside, so I creep out of the woods. I wander over to the entrance, curiously glancing around. Are they really making it this easy for me to get rid of their supplies?

My heart stops as I see a leg sticking out of the inside of the cornucopia. I prepare to run back, before I realize it is covered in blood. Are they hording bodies? Repulsed, I slowly walk over to it to examine the rest of the corpse.

It's not a corpse. It's Cato.

"Katniss? What are you doing here? Are you an idiot!" He yells, glancing around to make sure none of the other Careers returned.

Confused, I simply squat down to his level, and look at his leg. I carefully move aside the bloody gauze to see the injury.

His frown deepens, but he leans back, clearly in pain.

I lightly touch the wound, trying to see how deep it goes. It's fairly deep, but I've seen worse in my own house for my mother to fix. Of course, my mother is much better at this than I am.

"What happened to you?" I ask quietly, not taking my eyes of his leg.

"Marvel and Glimmer attacked me." He says simply, clearly still angry about it.

I would smile, but one won't form. "What did I tell you about them betraying their allies?"

"Yeah, you did say something about that." He mutters.

Without another word, I stand and walk over to the edge of the woods, looking for a plant my mother used to send me out to get. After a few minutes of searching, I've found several of them, and bring the leaves back over to him.

"What's that?" He asks curiously.

"Good question. I have no idea what they're called, I just know my mother uses them on injuries to help them heal faster." I press the leaves on top of his cut, and then wrap a fresh gauze from a nearby first aid kit over it. He groans in relief, the leaves clearly working their magic immediately.

"I'm impressed, Doctor Katniss." He smirks, finally making me look at him straight in his eyes.

I smile and stay quiet, not wanting to say something wrong.

"I'm glad you caught on to my hint about moving at the last minute." He says softly.

"Me too."

"I couldn't aim wrong, they would have known. You have no idea how worried I was you wouldn't move. You looked frozen to that branch." He chuckles, resting his arm on my knee cap.

"I was. It wasn't until after you threw it that I realized I needed to move."

"Well, I'm glad you did."

"Me too." I say again, dumbly.

We both pause for a moment and take the other in for a moment. His blond hair is dirty, and he has a buildup of dirt covering his skin. His clothes are ripped a little from the woods, but as a whole he still looks the same. He still has the same smirk, the same bright blue eyes. The way he looks at me is intensified, lighting a flame deep in my body.

"Katniss," he says, reaching his hand out to cup my cheek, he pulls me closer so his voice is barely above a whisper. "I have something for you."

I look at him, confused by what he can possibly have for me. He leans back, and motions over to a certain pile of weapons fifteen feet to the right. "It's not hard to guess, but take your pick." He smirks as I walk over to the pile.

My face lights up with a grin as I reach down and grab the bow and arrows. My bow and arrows. They were meant for me.

I gingerly hold them in my hands, in awe of the perfection and alignment in the bow. With this, I feel like my whole perspective on the Games has changed.

I walk back over to him. "Thank you," I whisper, sitting closer to him than before.

He smiles and leans into me. At first, I feel his warm breath on my cheeks, and I stare into his piercing blue eyes. He's so close I can see the freckles speckling lightly across his face. He opens his mouth slowly. "Katniss," he whispers.

All I can do is stare into his eyes; I feel frozen to this moment. I try to say something, but all that comes out is a soft noise. He smirks, and says, "I have a plan. For us."

* * *

><p><strong>Once again, thank you so much for sticking with me so far! All of your reviews mean the world to me, and to those who seem to be there every chapter, thank you so much. I really just appreciate you all so much. Please continue to review and let me know what you think!<strong>

**Also, a recurring theme in some reviews is asking about Peeta. He's definitely going to pop up soon, so keep an eye out. I like to think he's been making mud cakes up to this point.**

**Also everyone has been pointing out that Cato doesn't know about Kat's dad. That will come up later, it's something that Katniss finds hard to open up about, so it's not going to be an easy conversation.**

**Thank you all so much, and please review! **


	7. Black

"_Dad, are we almost there?" I called out, miserable after walking for the last five days, I was getting tired of seeing nothing but trees. He told me we were going far from District 12, to meet someone special. _

"_Almost, dear. If they left the same day we did, we should run into them any minute now." Just as the words left his mouth, a cry came from around half a mile away._

"_Is that you, old friend?" A man's voice called happily, "Sam, my brother, it is you!"_

"_Cyo!" My father roared happily as a man emerged from the woods. A young boy trailed behind him warily, eying me with interest. _

"_Introductions!" Cyo called happily, grabbing the blond boy and pulling him into our circle. _

"_This is my son Cato. Cato, this is my friend Sam and his daughter." Cyo smiled widely at me._

"_This is Katniss," my dad filled in, "And Katniss, this is Cyo. We've been friends since we were your age, when our fathers brought us to this exact spot." _

"_It's a tradition for the Stones and Everdeens. For generations." Cyo said, and he pushed his son forward. "Now go, make friends! We have some setting up to do."_

_With that, Cyo and Sam began setting up a small camp in a nook between two trees. They laid out the few provisions we all had, and they merrily chatted with one another as they caught up on their lives._

_Meanwhile, Cato and I stood a few yards away, studying the other. He was about six inches taller than me, and had muscles larger than any child in the Seam. His blond hair stuck up straight, and was messy after days of travel. His piercing blue eyes captivated me. In District 12, there were no blue eyes. Everyone had the same grey eyes. Looking into his eyes I felt like I was staring up at the sky on a clear day. I kept finding myself staring deeply into his eyes, awestruck at their beauty. _

"_Katniss?" His voice brought me out of my trance. He looked at me confused._

"_I'm sorry," I giggled, "What did you say?" I felt a blush rise to my cheeks, and tried to make it go away by focusing on the pains of hunger in my stomach._

"_I said, do you hunt too? My dad said your dad taught you just like my dad taught me." He reached a hand up and ran it through his already messy hair, dirtying the blond with dirt._

_My eyes lit up as I said, "Yes! Me and my dad hunt almost every day for food. I use a bow and arrow." I smiled widely at him, feeling the connection between us deepen. _

_He grinned back at me. "I've used a bow before too, but I'm not that great with it. I'm better with this." And suddenly he pulled a huge sword out of his belt, showing it to me. "It may not seem like good for hunting, but I can take down deer with this easy." He smirked, proud of himself. _

_I stared at the shiny blade in shock, imagining attacking a deer with it. "That's amazing," I said, as I reached out and touched the blade. "I've never seen anything like that before."_

"_Really?" He sounded shocked. "I can show you all of me and my dads. We have a ton! Back at home, they train us how to use them in school."_

_I felt my mouth drop to the ground. "They train you how to hunt at school?" My voice squeaked in shock. _

"_Not just hunt, how to fight. Kill. It's preparing us to be in the Hunger Games." He smirked again as he returned the blade back in its holster._

_My eyes widened even more. "Preparing you? Why would you want to be prepared for something so horrible?" I'm so confused as I stare at the strange boy._

_Now it's his turn to look confused. "Because… because it's an honor, you know? To be in the Games. To win." His eyes darkened as he looked off, and a faint smile played across his face. "I'm gonna win some day. I know it."_

_I stared at this boy, more confused than ever as to why anyone would ever want to be in the Games. "That doesn't make any sense." I said. Just as he started to reply, my father and Cyo rejoined us, and prepared us to all go hunting together. _

_My dad pulled me off to the side, and muttered, "So what do you think of Cato? Are you two friends already?"_

_I nodded happily, and he grinned and replied, "Trust me, Katniss. He's going to be one of those people you learn that you can't live without."_

"For us."

I lean in to him eagerly, my heart lurching in anticipation. "Feel free to share," I say.

"Well." He begins, adjusting himself comfortably. "Let's say I'm fully healed tomorrow, which I probably will due to your excellent nursing skills." He bumps my shoulder like he always does, and I grimace at the compliment. "So tomorrow, day and night, me and Clove will hunt. Hopefully take out as many tributes as possible. We're a good team together when it comes to hunting." He glances at me, gauging my reaction. My face remains unchanged.

"So then, when she finally goes to sleep, I'll say I'll take the first watch." Suddenly, I seem to see where his plan is going. "I'll kill her, quickly and in her sleep. Then you come, and it will be me and you. We'll have our own base camp here, and hunt down the rest together. Think about it. Me and Clove are a good team; me and you are a great team. Remember all those times we would hunt together?"

I do. In fact, I remember them vividly. "But there's a problem." I say, wondering how to tell him about my alliance with Rue. It's not the type of thing he'll understand.

"What?" He asks, his voice deepening.

"Rue. I allied with her." I say simply.

He exhales in relief, and I look at him oddly. He glances at me, and looks away pointedly.

"What? What did you think I was going to say?" I ask, puzzled.

He refuses to look me in the eyes, and says, "I thought you were going to say Peeta. That you allied with him or something."

Suddenly, for some reason that I cannot explain, I start cracking up laughing. "I haven't seen Peeta since the bloodbath. He's hiding out somewhere good, I don't think he needs me to ally with him." I giggle again.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind it." Cato mutters darkly. "Rue. Well, just ditch her. It'd be better that way. Then someone else would take care of her before you'd have to."

I shudder, all laughter gone. "I would never be able to kill her. She reminds me of…" I trail off, not wanting to bring Prim into this.

He finally looks into my eyes again. "I know what you were going to say." He says, and doesn't push it. "Well, maybe we can re-strategize a little."

He goes deep into thought, and I try to as well. However, all I can think of is how tired I am. He can tell too, because he seems to notice my eyes fluttering as I struggle to stay asleep.

"You're exhausted." He states simply.

"Yeah," I mutter. "Some annoying Careers were keeping me up last night."

He snorts, and mutters something to himself. I smile lightly as I feel my eyelids close again.

"CATO!" A scream suddenly pierces the air, and my heart turns cold. "Cato, I'm coming! Get away from him you murderous bitch!"

Clove comes running towards us, clearly thinking that I was attacking Cato, trying to kill him. How ironic.

The irony is lost to my thoughts, however, as I leap up and begin a mad dash for the woods. I feel Clove close behind me, and start zig zagging randomly as I run, hoping to again dodge one of her knives.

A knife whizzes past my ear and embeds itself into a tree a few yards away. I quickly change my direction and run parallel to Clove, desperately trying to outrun her.

All I can hear is the air thundering past my ears and my heart beating rapidly in my chest. As I get closer and closer to the trees, I feel a slight glimpse of hope in my heart.

Suddenly, a knife lodges itself just below my heart, deep in my stomach. I let out a loud cry of pain and I tumble into the ground, still rolling toward the trees with the knife in my body. I feel tears fall uncontrollably from my eyes, and I grab the handle of the knife. I simply hold it still, trying not to hurt myself any more.

"NO!" Cato screams. The world suddenly seems to freeze. In a crumpled heap on the ground, I look up through my tears to see Cato running to me, shaking his arms for me to run. His scream seemed to confuse Clove, as she turns and looks at him.

I seize the moment and muster all the strength and desire to live that I have, and I spring through the woods, holding the knife in place in my stomach.

I hear yells coming from Clove, and the more I run, the more faint her anger becomes. I slow to a jog, and then a walk. Soon I can barely see straight, the pain shooting through my body is so intense.

I stumble through the woods, not really knowing where I'm going. My world becomes blurry at the edges, and I feel the tears dry up. I look down at my wound, with the dagger still embedded deep in my stomach. I'm covered in blood, and the wound is so deep I can only see the handle of the knife.

"So this is it," I say, not even realizing I'm speaking aloud. This is how I'm going to die. Prim and my mother must be a wreck right now, knowing exactly what they would do to heal me if they had the chance. Gale must be furious right now, calling for Clove's blood.

Cato will win now; he won't have to worry about me getting in the way. He deserves it. He's been dreaming of it for so long, it would be cruel to take it away from him. After all, Gale will help my family survive. They will mourn me, and move on. I'll just be a distant memory in a few years.

I drop to the ground, running my fingers through the moss as I grow dizzy. I wonder if I should take the knife out. I choose against it, figuring it's holding something together if I am still alive and conscious.

For the second time today, a scream pierces the air that makes my heart turn cold. This time, however, instead of fear, I feel dread. It's Rue.

I stand, and begin running as fast as I can in this state towards her feeble screams. She screams my name, and I can tell she's crying.

I run as fast as I can, until suddenly, there she is. Her small body is lifted several feet in the air, entangled in a mess of ropes.

She's sobbing, and reaches a small hand through the ropes, as if she's reaching out to me. "Katniss," She whimpers, her frail body shaking.

I hobble to her, reaching up to her as well. And then the spear hits her body, completely piercing it though. The net drops, and her small corpse lies entangled in a mess of rope and blood. Her breathing slows immediately, and tears fall from her deep brown eyes.

It takes me half a second to pull the knife from my own stomach and enlodge it straight in the skull of Marvel. He drops, dead on impact.

Normally, I would be pleased for his death. But instead, I feel the tears burning in my head. I drop to the ground, and pull the rope net away from her.

Her breathing is hitched and delicate, as she is barely alive. She looks up at me, and the smallest of smiles appears on her face.

I stroke her cheek gently, singing softly to her. I brush through her hair, and hold her in my lap.

Her eyes close slowly, and her breath slows even more. Suddenly, she croaks, "Did you blow it up?" My tears finally find their release as I let out a loud sob. Her eyes snap closed, and all air leaves her tiny body.

I scream in anguish. She died for nothing, I didn't even destroy one of their supplies. I hug her body tightly in my arms, crying out loudly. I don't even care who comes for me now. I'll be dead in a few hours anyways.

I glance down at my stomach again, and feel faint at the sight of the large gash. I can see the insides of my body, covered in black blood. My head becomes more and more light and I get dizzy, I look at Rue one last time and give her one last hug.

And then darkness consumes me.

* * *

><p><strong>Hi! Sorry this chapter was so short, I'm about to go out of town for a week and I wanted to get out a new chapter first so I kept it shorter! Please review and let me know what you think!<strong>


	8. Monster

**Cato POV**

I've been pacing back and forth for hours now. After I screamed for Clove to stop her attack on Katniss, I gave Katniss the slightest chance of survival: a head start. She had dashed through the woods immediately, still holding the damn knife in her stomach.

I feel anger course through my veins in response to the thought of her injured. This limits her abilities greatly, not to mention it was a deep injury. I push out any thoughts of the risks, and focus on now.

Clove had questioned me for a moment, but I said nothing. Then, she ran after Katniss. That was almost three hours ago, and I've still heard or seen nothing from them. I suppose that's a good thing.

My head starts to pound in anxiety. I try to shake it off, and put my anger in slicing up a nearby tree. Leaves and chips of wood fall around me as I hack away at it.

Then, I hear it. The cannon. The cannon that may be signaling the end of my life. It seems all I can do now is stare off in the distance in a daze. I halfheartedly struggle to lift my feet and move, but I simply drop down to the ground. There's no way this can be happening. It can't be Katniss. It can't.

I feel my mouth hanging wide, and I know how weak I must look in front of the cameras, but for once I don't give a fuck about sponsors. All I care about right now is Katniss.

I finally stand up, still in a trance, and walk back over to camp. I pick up my largest, most lethal sword. I know what I have to do. If she killed Katniss, her death is about to become much longer and much more painful.

A few more hours pass, and although my leg no longer hurts that much, I feel myself growing tired. I resolve to staying awake, but after yet another hour I decide to take a quick nap.

I wake up to the scraping of a knife against metal. My eyes snap open and I roll up at once, surveying the area. Of course it's only Clove, sharpening her knife against a rock with a smirk on her face.

I sigh and sit back down. She nods toward me. "How's your leg?" She asks smugly, nodding toward me.

I pull aside my torn pants and glance at the faint scar. The medicine seemed to have worked wonders. "Much better. Now I'm ready to hunt those District 1 jackasses." I stand, gathering several swords in my belt, keeping my favorite one in my hands. I eye her warily, waiting for her to address the elephant between us. I have to know if she truly killed Katniss before I kill her.

For some reason, Clove remains seated.

"What, aren't you coming?" I ask impatiently. My bloodlust for revenge is strong right now, she shouldn't be passing up this opportunity when I know she craves the fight just as much as I do.

She eyes me with caution. "Don't you want to know how my chase went down?"

"Yes. But make it quick." I say, and I can feel my heart frozen in my chest in anxiety.

"Well, after you distracted me," She glared at me for a moment before continuing, "I chased after our little assassin. I chased her for hours, and just when I thought I lost her, I heard screaming." She smiled at me evilly, and I knew the expression of worry must be on my face.

I try to wipe my face blank, and say, "And?"

"So I followed the screaming, and ran into… Marvel. Dead. Interestingly enough, he had the knife that I threw at little Fire girl in his skull."

I'm shocked. Katniss killed Marvel? I puzzle over this for a moment, wondering how she could have been strong enough to kill a Career when she was injured. I feel a hint of pride inside at her victory over him. I nod for her to continue.

"So I knew she had to be close by, seeing as the last I'd seen of her she was close to death." She winked at me. "I found her huddled up by a tree, sobbing, holding that District 11 little girl's body." She looked at me, for a moment as if trying to read my emotionless face. "She begged for me to kill her. She said she was done with this hell, and wanted to be with her dear old daddy again."

I let this sink in for a moment. At first I'm sure she's lying. Katniss would never beg for death, especially from Clove. But then her words about Katniss' father resonate in my head. Could Sam truly be dead? That would explain their missing presence all these years. That would explain her hesitancy to talk about it. That would explain her need to get back and protect her own family. It was her job to keep them alive now.

Clove clears her throat loudly, pulling me from my thoughts. "After she begged, I figured I'd be-somewhat kind." She smirks. "It was only about a ten minute death, but by the end of it, she was only whispering one word. Your name." Clove looks at me with narrowed eyes. "With her dying breath, she coughed out blood and tried to call out for you. Then I stabbed her straight in the heart and extinguished her fire." She chuckles at her little joke. "So, ready to hunt?" She smirks and begins walking off into the woods.

I narrow my eyes at her retreating form, and prepare to launch my attack on her. I grab a spear, and aim at directly at the back of her skull. Then I hesitate. I only heard one cannon, and Clove described two deaths: Marvels and Katniss'. I pause before setting down the spear. She's lying to me about someone and I have to find out who.

I let the anger pulsate through me for a moment, figuring it's better than my sadness. I know it will hit later, but for now I choose to shut out all emotions. I can't consider the possibility of her death. I can't. I ignore that the last ten minutes ever happened. I will go according to plan. I will hunt with Clove. I'll figure out the truth about what happened. I'll take the first watch tonight. And I'll slaughter the bitch.

With a new, stronger bloodlust on my mind, I turn and follow Clove into the woods.

A few hours later, and we still haven't found any tributes. None. It seems the last 11 tributes are all good hiders. We continue wandering as it grows darker, and it quickly becomes clear we will hunt through the night.

By the time the moon has risen fully in the night sky, we both suddenly freeze. We heard the same noise. The sound of a footstep on a branch, about thirty feet to our West. Turning our heads slowly, we instantly become the predators we were trained to be.

Soundlessly, we move toward the source of the sound. Whoever it is must be alert of our presence, because not another sound has come from them since. They're frozen still. Like a sitting duck.

We both silently surround the huge figure in the dark, and adrenaline rushes through my veins as I realize who this is we've cornered. Thresh.

"Well, well, well. Look what we've found here." Clove taunts, causing Thresh to jump. Clearly, he didn't realize our proximity to him. I smirk, ready to kill.

"Look Thresh. We can do this the easy way, or the fun way." I say, my voice just above a whisper and my typical smirk setting itself on my face. I see the anger in his face as he looks from me to Clove. He quickly lunges toward her, and she easily sidesteps his huge body and he crashes to the ground. He's standing up again in a split second, in a defensive stance.

I smile widely. "Look like it's the fun way."

With a cry, I lunge toward him and pull out my sword, and it immediately finds its target in his arm. He yells in pain, a deep throaty yell. I chuckle as I see Clove running toward him and leap onto his back, enlodging one of her daggers deep in his back. She pulls it out of him, only to strike another spot. She continues stabbing him several times before he throws her off and her back hits a tree.

I laugh at her pain, knowing it's nothing compared to what I have planned for her. I circle around Thresh, preparing to strike again. Without a second for him to react, I thurst my sword deep into his stomach. The same spot that Clove struck Katniss with.

Suddenly, the thought of Katniss finally engulfs me, and I feel sick at my actions. Oddly unlike me, I just want his death to be over now. I can't let him suffer like Katniss did. Like Clove will.

I pull back my sword one last time, and strike him straight through the throat. He's dead in a matter of minutes now. He falls to the ground, choking out blood. I take this opportunity while he's done to make his death more tolerable. I pierce his heart through, and he dies immediately.

Clove is out of breath a few yards away, and looks at me oddly. "What was that? We weren't even done with him!" She pouts angrily and throws another dagger into his corpse.

"I'm tired." I say, and turn to head back to the cornucopia. Now, only her blood is on my mind. It's time for my own revenge.

She gives me an odd look. "Cato." She says, an odd tone to her voice.

"What?"

"Is this about that District 12 scum?" She asks, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Why would it be?" I ask. She looks suspicious, and I keep my face emotionless yet again as she struggles to read me.

"Because ever since I told you I killed her, you've been acting odd." She glares at me. "You never would have ended this so fast before, you would have loved this."

"She was my kill Clove," I sigh, making up an excuse. "I wanted to kill her because- well, it's personal. She attacked me. It was only fair that I got to get her." I roll my eyes as I see her absorb my excuse. Clearly, she believes it.

"Well than I suppose I should let you in on a secret." She mutters, grabbing her knife out of Thresh's body. "I didn't kill her."

My heart suddenly seems to come back alive, and it's beating faster than ever. "What?" I say loudly, urging her to continue.

"I thought if I told you she's dead you'd focus more on the other tributes, but clearly I was wrong. I don't know why she's affecting you so much-" she narrows her eyes at me, "but I thought I was helping by saying I got rid of her. But since you're so eager to kill her yourself, we'll hunt her now. We can get rid of her and then you'll be back to normal." She glares at me, with a hint of malice. "Right?"

"Right," I smirk, my heart leaping with joy on the inside. "But wait," I ask suddenly, "What was all that shit about her dad? Did you make all that up?"

She smirks, "No. I really did run into her, but someone else had found her first. She was saying that to that person. But I haven't heard a cannon yet so I suppose this person decided to let her live. For now." She giggles as she takes in my murderous expression. "It was Glimmer."

**Katniss POV**

I wake up to one of the worse smells in my life. Worse than that time Greasy Sae experimented with a new type of meat at The Hob. Worse than the smell of our house when my mother had a flood of new patients.

No, this smell is bloody. I slowly open my eyes. I am lying on the dirt floor, covered in leaves. I sit up slowly, pain shooting from my body. I'm sore. I examine my body. I'm covered in sticky blood, with leaves attached to me now. But for some reason, I can't find the source of my blood. I don't feel excruciating pain at all. Confused, I finally notice a faint scar on my stomach.

Mystified, I stare at if for a full minute. I run my fingertips over it. I try to calculate how this is possible. I close my eyes and try to recall the memories of my attack.

It floods back to me. Cato. Clove attacking me. Running. Rue. Killing Marvel. Rue. Screaming. Rue. Black. I shudder at the memories as fresh tears spring to my eyes. I look around frantically. It seems the hovercraft must have already picked up Rue's body.

I sit for a few minutes crying before I pull myself together. I return to the mysterious scar on my stomach, trying to calculate how it could have healed so fast.

"You're welcome, by the way." Her voice fills the air around me and I shoot up immediately. I scramble for my bow, only to find it in her hands.

I calm myself. "Glimmer." I greet her coldly. I hope she knows that I know what she did to Cato.

"Fire Girl." She smirks at me, twisting my bow in her hands. This is not good. I saw her use it in training; she's not good, but she knows how to use it.

"You did this to heal me?" I ask tentatively, not letting my eyes leave hers.

She smiles, revealing sparkling white teeth. "Like I said, you're welcome. I stole the medicine from the cornucopia before Marvel and I left the others."

I wonder if she knows I killed Marvel. She probably wouldn't have been so quick to heal me if she knew.

"Where is Marvel?" I ask, leaving my face devoid of any telling signs.

"Out hunting for other tributes, I suppose. We're meeting at noon in a special location. Which brings me to you. We want you in our alliance." She says simply, admiring the bow in her hands.

That hits me like a pound of bricks. "What?" I ask, not sure if I heard the girl correctly.

"Marvel and I have been trained to kill for our whole lives given that, as Careers, we would hardly worry about food. So we never learned true hunting. And while that can't be so hard, knowing what is poisonous and what isn't is. Which is where you come in. An alliance will keep you safe from Cato and Clove, who are hunting you by the way, and together the three of us can really get these Games going." She smiles widely, as if she's offering me the chance of a lifetime.

All I can think of was how she stabbed Cato in the stomach. I smile sweetly. "Well, it makes sense." I say slowly. "If I agree, will you give me my bow?"

She pulls out a knife of her own, a long, jagged one. "Of course," she smirks.

"I'm in." She simply nods, as if she knew I would accept, and tosses me the bow and arrows.

"Come on, I'm hungry. It's hunting time." Just before she turns to walk away, my arrow hits her in the throat. 2-4 minutes.

She chokes out a shocked snarl, and lunges toward me, her claws aimed at my throat. "You…bitch…" she chokes out, before falling to the ground. She begins to cough blood.

"No." I say, "You bitch. How dare you attack Cato, your own ally, and then expect me to ally with you? And attacking Cato, bad move. No one touches him, no one hurts him. I won't allow it." I don't even allow my brain to process my words. They just pour out from my heart like venom into her bloody throat. "You listen to me while you can, you only have around 30 seconds left. You're biggest mistake was touching him. Going near him. You made him think you liked him by hanging all over him. Of course he wasn't attracted to you." I smirk. "He even told me. He just strung you along because it was fun. But for you to try to hurt him, bad move."

Her eyes widen for one last time. She chokes out, "You-you… love him." This makes me pause for a moment, before shoving the arrow even harder into her throat.

I smirk as I watch the light begin to fade from her eyes. "And now you'll never hurt him again." I whisper.

Satisfied, I leave her body and walk away. I don't look back. I try to shut out the thoughts of Prim, and what she will think of me now.

**Cato POV**

"Slow day," Clove comments idly as she tosses a dagger into a nearby squirrel. She picks the knife out of it, and leaves the carcass alone.

I grunt in response, not in the mood for chatter. I let her live through the previous night. Normally, I would have slaughtered her as planned. But for now, I decided I needed her. There was something she wasn't telling me. Some secret that I needed to now. Her description of how she watched Katniss and Glimmer team up in an alliance didn't make any sense to me. Katniss would never team up with someone who tried to kill me. And why would Glimmer want Katniss other than to kill her?

The way Clove described it, they had planned it from the beginning, before the start of the Games. Apparently it had even been Katniss' idea for Marvel and Glimmer to attack me.

I'm no fool. I know Clove is lying on some parts, but I don't know which. And I don't know where she's getting her information. As far as I can tell, she has no idea of Katniss and I's history together. Yet.

She looks at me with her familiar smirk on her face. "So, I've been thinking about how I want to kill Fire Girl."

I whip my head around to her, and raise my eyebrows. She knows Katniss is my kill.

"I'm gonna do it real slow. First I'll cut off her feet, so she definitely can't escape. From there, little by little I'll chop away at her." She grins evilly, "her fingers, nose, maybe eventually an arm. But I'll be sure to leave her eyes so she can see everything." The familiar glint of sadism as returned to her eyes, and she continues to speak. Now it seems more for her pleasure than mine.

In a half second, I have her pinned against a tree. She smiles. "What's wrong Cato? Got another idea for your little Fire Girl?"

I give a harsh laugh. "Don't even try Clove. She's my kill and you know it. It's personal." I drop her to the ground and turn away.

She is breathless, but manages to call out, "Personal, huh?"

I turn to her. Personal is the easiest way to describe us. "After what she did yesterday. It's personal."

With that, I turn away from her and walk off, knowing she's not far behind.

**Katniss POV**

Regret. I'm full of it. I can hardly believe that was even me back there, torturing Glimmer, physically and verbally, as she died. It's so unlike me. I know the Games change people, but I never thought myself to turn into a monster.

* * *

><p><strong>So it's like 5 in the morning and I'm super tired and worn out, but I'd just like to thank everyone whose reading and reviewing, and I really hope you're enjoying this story as much as I do writing it! Thanks to everyone for your support, it means a lot!<strong>


	9. Reunion

**Katniss POV:**

It's been a quiet day. I haven't seen or heard from any of the other tributes and no cannons have sounded. I wonder if the Gamemakers are planning something; if the Games are getting dull surely we can expect something to come our way.

And today, dull is to say the least. I empty out yet another snare into my backpack. I recovered it and all the supplies from Rue and I's base camp after I killed Glimmer. I know I should still feel guilty about her death, and my cruel torture of her. But I don't. Besides the initial shock and horror at what I've done, I've felt nothing but relief.

I'm healthy. I'm armed. And somewhere out there is Cato. I feel like the Games are turning up for me now, especially knowing he is on my side and looking for me. Of course I don't know that he managed to kill Clove, but I'm sure he did. I was passed out all through the night last night, so I missed the announcement of the dead tributes. Perhaps it will be tonight. Either way, I feel anticipation in my body build with every step knowing it will soon be just me and Cato as allies.

Suddenly, the anthem of the Capitol plays. Confused, I look to the sky, but there is nothing being projected. I simply listen to the voice of Claudius Templesmith: "Attention, tributes. There has been a slight change in the rules. Two tributes, if from the same District, may both be declared victors of the Hunger Games. Thank you and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

His voice fades and the sounds of the forest start back up. I stand in shock. Peeta and I… we can both win. I sigh, however, knowing this isn't possible. It's me and Cato who have to be the last two. Peeta can't survive to the end.

This depresses me a little, and I absentmindedly wonder who else this applies to. It seems most Districts have already lost their District partner.

Suddenly, dread fills me as I realize what the Capitol has done. Surely Cato and I's story must be being told to the nation. Our story, combined with Clove and Peeta, must be the center of the Games. I realize what this means. We are the only two Districts this must apply to. It's the Capitol's way of intensifying the drama.

Maybe I should find Peeta after all. Cato hasn't killed Clove yet. All I can wonder is, why?

**Cato POV:**

All I can do is stare at the sky in shock. Inside all I can feel is horror. I look to my right at Clove, and her expression mirrors the same. How can the Capitol just change the rules like this? In anger, I punch the nearest tree.

All day today we have been hunting together, and I've been trying-unsuccessfully- to get her to divulge the true story about Katniss. It was just a few minutes ago that the whole game was turned upside down on us with that damn announcement.

Breathing heavily, I turn to her. "Clove, this changes the whole Game."

She nods, her eyes dark. I can tell she's angry about this. We've both been training our whole lives to be the victor. The sole victor. I can only imagine how angry she is that if we win together, she would only be half a victor. In her eyes, that's no honor.

But for me, I don't care about being the sole winner. I care about my plan with Katniss to be the last two. Clove can't survive because Katniss has to. I close my eyes for a moment, and decide that it's as simple as that.

"Open your eyes, Cato." She's right in front of me, a sullen expression etched on her hard features.

"Who were you thinking about, I wonder." She says it as a statement, not a question.

I roll my eyes, but remain silent. I simply watch her carefully, preparing in case of an attack.

"You know, I never thought you'd be the one to mess this up." She says, and for the first time, I see an expression of sadness on her face. Loss. "You were so driven, so determined to win- to kill. What happened that made you change so much? You aren't the same guy you were back in District 2." She gives me an odd look before continuing, "Is it something to do with this District 12 scum you're obsessing over?"

I glare at her, "I'm the same as I've always been, Clove. Stop reading into something that's not there."

"But it is there. She's all you think about and I can tell. And your fixation with her is going to lose you the Game." She takes a step back. "But I guess that's in my favor now, isn't it?"

I nod. "You go back to the cornucopia now and get what you need. Once it's night, I'll go back and get what I need." I glare at her, wishing her away. "Once the sun rises tomorrow, the cornucopia's fair game."

She smirks evilly and begins walking backwards. "May the best man win." She whispers as she turns away. Once she's walked a few yards, she calls back over her shoulder, "Don't forget what I said about how I'm gonna kill fire girl when I do find her."

The familiar burning sensation that I've grown accustomed to fills me, and I yell after her, "If she doesn't find you first."

She turns around in shock, frozen. She simply shakes her head, and walks away with a loud cackle.

**Katniss POV:**

It's so hot. The Gamemakers must be tampering with the temperature, because every day is gradually hotter than the one before.

I'm drenched in sweat as I walk through the woods. It's late afternoon now, and I've been searching all day for someone. Cato. Peeta. I'd be happy to see Clove at this point, mostly so I can kill her myself.

I take a turn and head down to a lake I'm familiar with. I've gone here several times throughout the Games because it's the perfect location for me. Lots of tall trees, a freshwater lake, and it's on elevated ground. When I climb up high in the trees, I can see for miles.

I hike up the hill and take in the beautiful sight. I can give the Gamemakers props, they made a stunning arena. I quickly fill up my small canteen of water and drink it, savoring the refreshing taste as it flows through my body.

I sit down on a rock and glance up at the sky. The sun is setting now, and it will soon be dark. I've gone all day with nothing happening to me- besides my killing Glimmer this morning. I haven't seen or heard from a single person. I wish I knew how many tributes were left.

I glance around at the trees, trying to decide which one I'll spend the night in. I walk over to a tall sycamore tree and stand next to it, when suddenly I hear a noise. A stick cracking.

Immediately, I am in hunter mode. I hold impossibly still and listen, my eyes darting around the perimeter. Another crack, and then a groan. A groan? Suddenly my world is twisted around. Because I recognize that groan. It's Peeta.

"Peeta?" I call out softly, hoping it's only him and not another tribute. There is only silence in response, and for a moment I figure I must have imagined it.

But then, "Katniss?" he calls out. His voice sounds broken and weak, and I can tell it's close by.

"Peeta!" I call, excited, "Peeta, I'm here. Where are you?" I walk closer to his sounds, but I still can't see him. "Peeta?" I ask again, confused.

Suddenly the ground sits up. "Hi." He mutters. And I stare in shock at the mud covered boy in front of me. He has painted himself with mud to become the perfect camouflage.

"Peeta!" I cry, and I lean down and pull him into a hug. "It's good to see you." I say, and I do mean it.

He winces at my touch. "Careful," he mutters softly, "I'm not doing so great." He motions to his leg, and my eyes widen at the deep gash, looking slightly infected, down his calf.

"Who did this to you?" I whisper as I gently run my fingers on it. There's no way I can heal this, I know. Cato, yes, I helped him. But he had medicine along with my knowledge. Without any medicine, it's a wonder Peeta is still alive.

"Marvel." He mutters. I sigh and shake my head.

"If it makes you feel any better," I whisper to him, "I killed Marvel." I don't meet his eyes because I don't want to see the shock that I know is in them.

"You killed him?" He asks, and I can hear the shock in his voice.

"Him and Glimmer." I say, still looking down at his leg.

"Wow." Is all he says. We're quiet for the next few minutes, as I slowly rinse off the mud and sweat from his leg. Once I've finally gotten it cleaned, I can see the real damage. It's deep, and long. I can see muscle inside his leg that has been ripped. My initial thoughts were right, without medicine fast, he's screwed.

"What do you think, doctor?" he asks jokingly. When I don't respond, he says, "How long?" All the humor has faded from his voice now. Well, at least he's logical.

"I'm not sure." I whisper. "If we had medicine, it would be completely different and you'd be better in a day. But without medicine…" I pause, and look up into his crystal blue eyes one more time. "I'm not sure."

He nods, and with a sigh, he lays back down. "Well, it was nice running into you. I wish you the best of luck." He mutters.

I roll my eyes, and reach down to help him up. "You're coming with me, Peeta. I'm not just going to leave you here to die."

His eyes widen in shock. "Surely you realize that allying with me at this point will make you an easy target?"

I feel a smirk slide onto my face as I say, "Maybe I want them to come find me."

I pull him up, and he leans on me. I slip my backpack back on, and slowly, we begin walking. I suppose we're going to look for somewhere we can stay, since he can't climb trees.

I can hear the surprise and slight horror in his voice as he says, "You really are a warrior, Katniss."

I don't reply, instead, I just continue on, with him hanging on my shoulder.

**Cato POV:**

People really are stupid. How can a tribute who's survived this long be stupid enough to light a fire, when it's dusk? I am running swiftly and silently to the source of the blaze. I've been anticipating this all day, the adrenaline of the hunt.

It's been such a slow day. Since me and Clove split up, I hunted for hours and haven't seen a soul. Until now.

I reach the campsite, and stand behind the girl. She doesn't realize I'm here yet. She's roasting some disgusting looking piece of meat. I smirk to myself, wondering if I should wait just to see if she dies from the nasty meat.

Of course, I'm not patient. I clear my throat loudly, and she leaps into the air. It's a younger girl, probably about 15. I have no idea what District she's from. And frankly, I don't give a damn.

She screams loudly and begins to run from me. With a chuckle, I run after her. She's not fast at all. I have her pinned to the ground in a few seconds.

"Please!" She begs, as tears begin to fall from her eyes. "Please, I have to get out of here. I have someone I love back at home, waiting for me." She sobs, and I simply shake my head.

I press her face into the ground and pin her hands behind her back with one of my hands. I decide a simple neck snap will do.

Right as I reach down, she lets out a choking sob, and cries, "You don't know what it's like to love someone so much, and to feel their love equally back to you. Someone who you would do anything to see again, to make sure they don't get hurt." She struggles helplessly under my grip. "You don't have anyone!" She cries out angrily at me.

I narrow my eyes at her. "What's your name?" I ask, in a low, seductive voice.

I feel her whole body stiffen at my words and my tone. "Amelia." She says, her voice wavering.

"Well, Amelia. You're wrong. I do have somebody that I need to see again. Somebody that I want to see get out of this hell. And it's not you. That's why I'm about to kill you."

A confused expression falls on her face for a split second, before it is wiped emotionless as I snap her neck.

I stand up, and wipe my hands off on her clothes. I begin to walk from her body. Night has finally fallen, and the moon is high in the sky. I figure I might as well head back to the cornucopia, to get my share of the supplies.

I try to ignore the words that just poured out of me, but I can't. I've been ignoring it for so long, I finally let it overtake my thoughts. I want Katniss to get out of the arena. With or without me. She has to survive, because she can't die. I can't let anything happen to her. I know that's the way it has to be, and I will do whatever it takes to make it happen.

The Capitol's anthem plays, and I tilt my head forward to see the kills of the day. Only two faces haunt the sky tonight: Glimmer and Amelia, who I learn was from District 9.

I stare at the sky in shock, even after the faces fade away. Glimmer? My mind flies with possibilities as I begin to run back to the cornucopia. Could Katniss have killed Glimmer? I feel fleeting pride through my body, because deep down, I know she did. Of course Clove's lies about them allying were false. I still don't know about what Katniss said about her father, but I intend to find out.

It's time to find Katniss.

The woods begin to become sparse, and the trees turn to small shrubs as I reach the area where the cornucopia once stood. I stare darkly as I take in the sight before me. Flames consume the whole valley, and in the center of it all stands the cornucopia. Every supply that was left is now being burnt to ashes.

I'll give it to Clove, there are no rules here in the Hunger Games.

I turn away, not allowing myself to be surprised. Of course she would do something like this, anything to give herself the upper hand. But I won't allow her to win. I still have several of my favorite swords with me, and a few knives as well.

I begin walking through the woods, and instead of letting the anger in, I focus on Katniss. Where would she be hiding?

**Katniss POV:**

I'm surprised there were only two deaths today. I heard the cannon just a little while before the announcement came on, so it must have been a slow day for all the tributes.

I look over at Peeta. We've found a cave that's well hidden from the outside. It's actually pretty roomy, and I've set up snares all over the place. He's lying on top of my sleeping bag, staring at the ceiling. After I cleaned off his leg, I wrapped it in a piece of his pants that I cut off and washed. It's elevated now, but I can already see the blood soaking the fabric.

"Peeta?" I ask. He looks over at me, with a look of hope in his face. "Do you know how many tributes are left? Or who they are?"

He grins at me. "I can help with that. That's all I've been doing is keeping track of them. It gets a little boring lying in the mud all day and night." He grins at me, and I can't help but smile back. "There are ten tributes left." He closes his eyes and looks concentrated. "The guy from 2, Cato. The girl from 2, Clove." His expression hardens at the mention of their names. "The guy from 3, the guy and the girl from 5, the guy from 6, the guy from 9, the guy from 10, and then me and you."

Wow. That's a lot of people left. I nod at him, and he lays back down. Within a short while, he's asleep, snoring peacefully. I smile at him, trying to fight the guilty feelings about his fastly approaching death. There's nothing I can do to help him.

I decide to take a walk outside and check the snares. Stepping out of the cave, I cover the entrance with a few branches. It looks completely hidden.

I begin to walk about a quarter of a mile away, armed with my bow. I've almost reached my destination when I hear a footstep, extremely close by.

I freeze, and my bow is loaded and ready in a split second. I circle slowly, my eyes searching for the hidden person.

My heart stops at the familiar sound of his chuckle, and he steps forward slowly, out of the shadows of the night. It's Cato.

My eyes blur with tears of happiness and relief. I feel like a dumb girl so I quickly command the tears to stop. I lower my arrow, and his smirk that I've come to love lights up his face.

"Hey, Kat."

* * *

><p><strong>YAYY. They're finally reunited! All I can say is the next chapter is going to be a quite different dynamic with Cato, Katniss, and Peeta rooming together (; Please review, I love to hear what you think! It means the world to me! Enjoy! <strong>


	10. Electricity

"Hey, Kat."

My whole body feels like it's been electrified as I run toward him. "Cato!" I cry, and then I'm in his arms, in his warm embrace. He hugs me tightly, and I feel his fingers run through my knotted hair.

I pull away and he holds me at arm's length. "You have no idea how happy I am that you are okay." He says, and I can tell. His eyes are lit up with something I've never seen before.

I feel a true smile on my face as I say, "I have a pretty good idea. I was starting to worry Clove got to you." He laughs out loud at this and shakes his head.

"Clove and I parted ways once the announcement was made. Then, as a show of good sportsmanship, she burned all the supplies at the cornucopia." He chuckles darkly.

My eyes widen. "There's nothing left there?" Nothing left means no more medicine, no more hope of helping Peeta.

"Just an empty cornucopia now." He shrugs. "It's not like we're gonna need any of those supplies. If I remember right, you and me are pretty damn good hunting partners."

My eyes light up as I laugh, and I lead him on the walk back to our campsite. "There's something I have to tell you before we get back." I say, glancing at him from the corner of my eyes.

He turns and looks at me. "What could you possibly have to tell me?" He asks slowly.

"Well," I begin. I remember the first time I visited him at the cornucopia when he told me he was glad I allied with Rue instead of Peeta. "Back at my campsite… well… Peeta is there."

He stops. I stop too, and turn to look at him. His eyes are dark, and that light from his eyes has faded. His trademark smirks has fallen into a scowl, and I can tell he's angry.

I try to help. "Listen, he's from my District, and he's injured. And he found me. I had to help him." I try to explain, but I know it's not going to make a difference.

He simply shakes his head and closes his eyes for a moment. I can tell he's holding himself back from releasing his anger. Finally, after a few moments, he reopens his eyes. "What's wrong with him?" He asks in a stiff tone.

"His leg. Like yours." I mumble, staring down at the ground.

He sighs, and begins to pace around in anger. "What are you going to do when you heal him?"

"I can't heal him." I say softly. He looks up at me in surprise.

"It's that bad?" he asks. I nod, and he sighs deeply. "So you're just waiting for him to die, basically?" I nod again. He looks deep in thought for a moment. "You never stop surprising me, you know."

It's my turn to look confused. "What do you mean?" I ask.

"I would have thought if you knew he was this bad and you couldn't save him that you'd put him out of his misery." He says simply. And for the first time, I let that thought in.

"I never even thought of it," I say softly. The thought repulses me, killing Peeta. Even if he is injured, I know I could never do it. "I don't think I could do it."

He doesn't look surprised as he says, "That's what I figured. But whatever, we'll wait his death out and he'll die with you by his side." His eyes darken slightly, and he adds, "A friend."

We begin walking again, and I add, "You know, he doesn't like you much either."

He chuckles darkly and throws a muscular arm around my shoulder. "We're going to have a very interesting little alliance going on here." My heart flutters at his words, and he pulls me closer. He turns to me, and his beautiful eyes bore into mine and he says, "Did I mention I'm glad to see you?"

I smile happily and nod. "Not as happy as I am to see you." He pulls me even closer and squeezes my shoulders. The smile on his face lights up the whole forest, and I feel like I'm finally home.

We reach the camp, and he waits outside for a moment as I go in to talk to Peeta. He is lying on his side, facing away from the entrance. I tap him gently on the shoulder, and he turns to me with a weak smile. "Hey." He greets me, not failing to notice my new found happiness. "You look happy," he says.

I sigh and nod. "Okay, Peeta. I have some news for you. You're probably not going to like it, but it's the way it is."

His face darkens, and for some reason I have a feeling he already knows what I'm about to say. But I say it anyways. "Cato is here, and he's allying with us. I know this is crazy to you, Peeta. The best I can tell you is him and I… our families have been friends for generations. I knew him before the Games." He stays silent as I try to gauge the reaction on his face. There's a brief pause, and I add, "I trust him."

He lets out a deep sigh and struggles to sit up. I help him up gently to a sitting position. He looks at me, almost sorrowful, and says, "You can trust him all you want. And I trust you. But I don't trust him."

Confused, I simply nod. "Cato," I call, "You can come in now." I watch Peeta's face as I hear the bush move and Cato's footsteps into the cave.

"Hey." He says casually to Peeta. Peeta simply nods, and looks at me, annoyed. Great, this is going to be interesting.

**Cato POV: **

It's been less than ten minutes that Katniss, Peeta, and I have been in the same cave and I already want to throttle the guys throat. We've all been in silence, sorting through their supplies and the supplies I brought with me. I've been civil to him, hell I greeted him nicely. And all the dicks done is glare at me and give annoyed looks to Katniss.

Anger churns in my blood at the way he looks at Katniss, like he has some private connection to her. I see him look at her again, and I lose it. Irritated, I slam down a lump of rope I've been untangling.

Katniss turns and looks at me, not seeming surprised. She glances at my face, and I try to control my heavy breathing. "You look like the living dead," She comments. What? That was not what I was expecting her to say at all. She lets out a short laugh, and continues. "Tell you what. Why don't I go out, and look for dinner. Both of you…" She glances at both of us tentatively, "Stay here and get some rest. You both need it."

I open my mouth to protest, but the look on Katniss face and the fact that Peeta opened his mouth as well makes me close it. I simply roll my eyes and nod. I walk over to the opposite side of the cave as Peeta's sleeping bag, and rest my head on the dirt ground.

Katniss sighs, and picks up her bow and sliver of arrows. "I'll be back soon." She says. Suddenly, I'm anxious about her going off on her own. Clearly, Peeta is too.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? Maybe you can wait till it's daylight." Peeta says to her, worry etched on his face. Katniss simply looks annoyed at this.

Peeta looks at me, as if he wants me to back him up on this. Then I realize, Katniss is more than capable. I've only hunted with her a few times, years ago. But even then she proved how strong she is. How much of a warrior she is.

"She'll be fine," I say to him, never taking my eyes of her. "She's made to do this." Her eyes bore into mine warmly, but she says nothing. Peeta simply lets out a groan of annoyance and lays down.

"I'll be back soon." She repeats, still looking at me. I nod slightly, and smirk at her. She grins, and leaves.

I lay my head back down, happy with our private communication. Take that, Peeta.

About thirty minutes later, I'm still awake. I hear Peeta turn on his side, and know that he is too. Our cave has been silent since Katniss left. I prefer it that way.

"Cato?" his voice calls tentatively. I roll my eyes and say nothing. "I know you're awake, Cato."

I sigh and say, "What do you want?" This better be good.

I hear him roll around again, and he says, "Do you think we should go check on Katniss? It's been like over an hour."

I swear, every time he talks I roll my eyes. "It's only been about thirty minutes. She's fine. She's a big girl, she can take care of herself."

"How would you know? You've seen her like what, twice before?"

Damn, he sure knows how to irritate me. "That's none of your business, 12."

Clearly my intended insult riled him up, because he sits up in anger. "Don't call me 12 like that's some sort of insult. 12 is the biggest compliment you can give me. It stands for my home, my family, my friends. It's Katniss' home too, you know. You can't use our home to insult us."

I stare through the darkness at his form. "I'm not insulting you because you're from 12. I'm insulting you because you're weak. And if you really had faith in Katniss, you would know like I do that she's okay."

Silence fills the darkness again. We sit there for what feels like hours, but it's only a few minutes. Finally, I break the silence. "She didn't tell you, but Clove burned all the supplies at the cornucopia. The food, the weapons, and the medicine." I pause, and add, "I thought you should know."

He is silent for a few moments. "Thank you for telling me," He mutters. I guess that was hard for him. "So there really is no hope for me." He mutters, more to himself than to me.

I stay silent, not wanting to fill him with any false hope.

"I kinda had a feeling I would die this way." He says, "I'm not the type to go out fighting. I'm more the type to die from something no one can save."

I can't help but chuckle. "You're the type to die that way? If you've been looking at the Games that way since the beginning I'm impressed you're still alive."

He chuckles too. "It does sound pretty cynical, I suppose." He pauses, and adds, "Haven't you thought about dying, in here?"

No, I haven't. Not really. I stay silent, pondering this. If I truly do plan to get Katniss out, if our stalemate plan doesn't work, then I have to die. I accepted this earlier, yet I haven't truly considered death yet. "I think," I say slowly, "dying is only honorable if you're dying for the right reason. If not, dying is weakness." I forget who I'm talking to, and I realize what I just said to Peeta.

He simply chuckles again, however. "I'm dying for something, all right. I'm dying to save the girl I love."

I knew it. We both remain silent as we take it in. It pissed me off at first when he confessed it at the interviews, but hearing him say it now is ten million times worse. I feel anger flowing through me as I resist the urge to kill him now.

He breaks the silence, and says, "It's worth it, for me. Knowing my death puts her one death closer to living."

I remain silent again. If he wants to die for her, fine. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing they'll never be together. It's sick, I know. But it's also sick to think of the two of them together.

Finally, I say, "Then you're not as weak as I thought." It's half a lie. I know he's just as weak as I thought. But as least now I know he's deluded. Better to die happy in a fantasy than alone in reality. For him, at least.

"You still don't think you're going to die here?" He asks me.

"I don't know." I say. I don't want to talk about that, not with him. I suppose he can sense it, because I hear him turn again. And we remain in silence.

About fifteen minutes later, I hear footsteps outside the cave. I sit up sharply, and silently reach over and grab the sword next to me. I stand silently, and move over to the entrance. I wait for a moment, preparing to kill anyone who's not Katniss.

"Put the sword down, Cato." Her voice calls right as she walks in through the bush. I smirk at how well she knows me.

"Hey, Kat." I say for the second time this night. She grins up at me.

"Hi." She whispers, glancing at Peeta. She looks to me again, and says, "Someone's lit a fire. Up for a hunt?"

Adrenaline fills me immediately and I nod. "Let's go," I mutter. And the two of us dart out of the cave, like warriors for battle.

**Katniss POV: **

We move through the woods as silent as the night surrounding us. The outlines of trees loom around us, and we move as one toward the light flickering about a mile away.

I look to Cato, and see my determination mirrored on his face. Adrenaline flows between us, electrifying the air around us. We're both ready for this.

The closer we get, the more I think about how ten tributes left is about to fall to nine. I wonder who it is that we're about to kill. I try to push the thoughts out of my mind and focus on the goal.

We reach the campisite, and conceal ourselves behind trees as we assess the situation. It's a guy, and I recognize him to be from District 3.

I hold up 3 fingers to Cato, and he nods in agreement. He motions forward and I creep out from behind the tree. Slowly, I walk over until I'm a mere few feet away from him.

I hold up my loaded bow, aiming directly at his head. He can sense something's wrong now, I can tell. He's stiff, and concentrating hard on something. Just as I'm about to release the arrow, he dives to the side and grabs a sword of his own.

He faces me, breathing heavily, and holding his weapon in defense.

"You," he whispers, almost confused. "Not who I expected."

"And who were you expecting?" I ask him, keeping my bow loaded and aimed at his heart.

He smirks, an ugly smirk compared to the one I'm used to. "Actual competition." He says, before diving toward me.

My arrow is released before his feet even leave the ground, and enlodges itself in his heart. The same second I release my arrow, Cato dives out of his hiding spot and stabs the boy in his side.

The boy lets out a cry of shock and pain as he falls to the ground with Cato on top of him. Cato pulls the sword out and quickly stabs him again, delivering the fatal blow. The boy's eyes fall closed and his chest stops heaving.

I walk over to them, and remove my arrow as Cato stands up. We wipe off our weapons on the boy's clothes. Quickly, I glance around the camp to find any supplies, but there is nothing of importance.

Cato kicks dirt up on the fire, extinguishing it. He looks up at me. "So I guess you're not actual competition." He says jokingly, his smirk lighting up the dark night.

I punch him on the shoulder, "I'd say I'm the best competition in here. Especially for you."

"Oh really?" He asks, a devilish glint in his bright blue eyes. He turns to stand in front of me, blocking my way.

"Really." I whisper, a smirk of my own on my face. I try to push past him, when suddenly he grabs me and swings me over his back in one swift movement.

I scream with laughter and punch his back with all my force, but he simply chuckles in response. "You're a pretty big threat from back there, I see what you mean."

"If you don't put me down I'll show you how much of a threat I am!" I yell at him, trying hopelessly to wiggle my way out of his arms. He starts spinning me in a circle, and I give up and simply hang limp.

"Giving up so soon, or just getting dizzy?" He calls back to me, before swinging me off his back and planting me firmly on the ground.

My legs buckle underneath me from my dizziness, and I fall straight into him. I can tell he wasn't expecting me to fall, because I push him straight to the ground. I fall on top of him and we both crack up with laughter.

He reaches up to me, and brushes a piece of hair out of my face. "If this is how you're gonna threaten me, I'm not too worried." He whispers to me, and I feel myself blushing.

I try to roll to the side off of him, but his arms reach up and hold me in place on top of him. I smile down at him, and whisper, "This seems more like you threatening me now."

He smirks, and stays silent. We simply look into each other's eyes, grey into blue. I feel the familiar electricity flowing through the air, and hold his gaze. I couldn't break it, even if I wanted to.

He pulls me up to a sitting position, and I'm cradled in his lap. We never break eye contact, and I feel entranced by his eyes. He wraps his arms around me tightly and pulls me in close. We sit together, for what feels like hours. I've never felt more safe, just being in his arms.

His eyes are lit up with passion and electricity, and he leans in to me. I tilt my head up towards him, and our lips meet, slowly at first. The electricity that has been built up in the air since we were reunited suddenly explodes between us.

He pulls me tightly into him, and my arms reach up and wrap around his neck, my fingers entangled in his hair. His tongue enters my mouth and I feel like I can't get enough of him. His hands roam my body, one resting on my hip holding me in place, and the other is running through my hair.

I feel like my head is going to explode, and I wonder for a moment if we could die like this, from lack of breathing. I force myself to pull away, and catch my breath. His eyes remain closed for a moment, before I am reunited with the beautiful blue.

He grins at me, slightly smirking. He pulls me to my feet, and throws his arm around my shoulders again, drawing me close. I smile up at him, still feeling tingles through my body.

"Come on," He says, "What better way to ruin this moment than go back home to our cave with Peeta." I giggle at him, and lightly punch him in the side, at the same time pulling closer to him. I rope my arm around his waist, and together we walk back home.

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is! Sorry it's taken so long for this one, I'm back in school. Sadly. So I guess chapters will take about this long now, a week or two for a new one. I'm sorry I can't be one of those people who update every day, I wish I could! But anyways, I hope this fit your expectations! <strong>

**To get you through the wait for the next chapter, I'll give you a few hints. Next chapter features a lot lot lot of action. Clove. And a lot of tears. It's going to be realllly long too. What I've started of it so far is already about as long as this whole chapter. **

**But anyways, please review, it does make me write faster! And your reviews mean a ton to me! Thanks! **


	11. Message to My Readers

Hello Readers! I am SO very sorry for this hiatus in my story. Big things have been happening in my life, I am thrilled to tell you all I am engaged to the love of my life, and we are planning a March wedding! Planning a wedding is a huge ordeal, so it has been very time consuming. I promise to you that a new chapter will be up within a month, I am mostly finished with it and hopefully I can get back to regularly updating soon. I am so sorry to have kept you all waiting, but please know I have not forgotten! Lots of love!


End file.
